Bistatic Radar Positioning of a Moving Target, Using Only Range and Range-Rate Measurements

Of the many applications of bistatic (BS) radars, this article addresses the possibility to replace a monostatic radar with its highly directive antenna, with a coherent BS radar using a single short baseline between the transmitter and the receiver and no direction measurements. The method applies to a moving target and requires both range and range-rate BS measurements. Theory and field-test results demonstrate, on a two-dimensional scene, how several consecutive pairs of BS range $( r )$ and range-rate $( {\dot{r}} )$ measurements of a moving target can provide the target's position, velocity, and heading (x, y, v(x), v(y)). In a three-dimensional scene, with five estimated target parameters (x, y, h, v(x), v(y)), a second receiver is needed, not in-line with the original baseline. The $( {r,\dot{r}} )$ measurements distinguish the suggested concept from most other multistatic radars as well as the well-known multilateration positioning or interferometric angle-of-arrival estimation.

Automated summary

This article explores the possibility of replacing a monostatic radar with a highly directive antenna using a coherent bistatic (BS) radar with a single short baseline between the transmitter and the receiver, without requiring direction measurements. The method is applicable to moving targets and relies on both range and range-rate BS measurements. Theoretical analysis and field-test results demonstrate how consecutive pairs of BS range (r) and range-rate (ṙ) measurements can determine the position, velocity, and heading of a moving target in a two-dimensional scene (x, y, v(x), v(y)). In a three-dimensional scene, a second receiver, not along the baseline, is required to estimate five target parameters (x, y, h, v(x), v(y)). The measurements of range and range-rate distinguish this concept from other multistatic radars and well-known positioning or angle-of-arrival estimation techniques.