Computationally simple DOA estimation of two resolved targets with a single snapshot

Direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation of two targets with a single snapshot plays an important role in many pulsed radar array applications. We consider the case when the targets are spaced by more than the beamwidth of the array. In this case, the conventional beamformer (BF) is able to resolve them, but results in biased DOA estimation due to the leakage effect. We propose computationally simple strategies to reduce this bias. A novel method is presented, based on the analysis of the noise-free BF spectrum and a local approximation. We comment on computational cost and present simulation results.