Space-time clutter covariance matrix computation and interference subspace tracking

A fast method of computing ideal space-time clutter covariance matrices is described and the method´s application to the study of clutter interference subspaces is considered. These areas are of principal importance in the study of space-time adaptive processing (STAP) for airborne pulse Doppler radar arrays. Formulae for clutter covariance matrices assuming various stochastic models are first derived, then a fast algorithm is developed in the case of uncorrelated patch-to-patch clutter with arbitrary illumination and reflectance. Finally, the clutter interference subspace as a function of scan angle for the case of a rotating sensor array is studied.