DDD Method Based on Joint Target Cancellation for Circular Array Antennas

Circular array antennas have three merits such as all-orientation space scanning, flexible search and track mode and good beam bearing etc. relative to common linear array antennas. However, when conventional space time adaptive processing (STAP) algorithms are used, there may be a small loss in performance when compared with a uniform linear array (ULA). With some care in the choice and implementation of the STAP algorithm, the majority of the degradation is at close ranges, where the target returns are relatively strong. At long ranges performance is barely affected. This paper proposes a novel direct data domain (DDD) method based on joint target cancellation, and the proposed method can enhance the ability of target detection in nonhomogeneous environment in comparison with conventional DDD methods, using a circular antenna array