Robust signal processing for active array with antenna switching in impulsive noise environments

A new robust M-beamformer is developed for estimating the angle, velocity, and range in impulsive noise environments using an active radar array with antenna switching. The proposed robust beamformer uses a nonquadratic loss function and is implemented as a recursive weighted least squares (LS) algorithm. A special power function of the proposed beamformer is derived by minimizing the absolute value loss function of estimation residuals. Maximum peaks of this power function are used for estimation of the angle, velocity, and range of multiple moving targets. Simulation demonstrates that the new robust L₁-norm beamformer offers a high accuracy in estimation of movement parameters and has a decreased sensitivity of the estimates with respect to noise components having heavy-tailed distributions.