Nonparametric permutation tests versus parametric tests in radar detection under k-distributed clutter

Permutation detectors (tests) are nonparametric CFAR (constant false-alarm rate) detectors if clutter samples are independent and identically distributed (IID). The optimum statistic for the parametric detector is also optimum for the permutation detector. In this paper, we analyze the performance of some permutation tests (PTs) under an ideal k-distributed clutter model and nonfluctuating (NF) and Swerling II (SW-II) target models. Also, we compare the PTs results against their parametric counterparts under the same conditions. We analyze the detector performances in terms of detection probability (P_d) versus signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR) for different parameter values: the number of integrated pulses (N), the clutter reference samples (M), the false alarm probability (P_fa) and the shape parameter (v) of the k-distributed clutter. The conclusions obtained from the analysis of the different results are discussed.