Signal sorting in ESM systems

As radar signal environments become denser and radar signals become more complex, the task of an ESM operator becomes more difficult. In environments where the numbers of radars may be large and the number of pulses transmitted by a radar may be small, the operator becomes the dominating factor in the efficiency of an ESM system. The paper discusses the problem of developing automatic sorting of radar environments, in order to assist, and eventually replace, the ESM equipment operator. The paper separates the signal sorting problem into two subproblems of describing the radar environment in a pulse-train sorter and monitoring changes in the perceived environment in a new-signal detector. Emphasis is placed on the need to use all available pulse parameter measurement data in order to achieve the highest possible confidence in the descriptions of the emitters which the signal sorter provides.