Radar Intelligent Processing Technology and Application for Weak Target

Weak target signal processing is the cornerstone and prerequisite for radar to achieve excellent detection performance. In complex practical applications, due to strong clutter interference, weak target signals, unclear image features, and difficult effective feature extraction, weak target detection and recognition have always been challenging in the field of radar processing. Conventional model-based processing methods do not accurately match the actual working background and target characteristics, leading to weak universality. Recently, deep learning has made significant progress in the field of radar intelligent information processing. By building deep neural networks, deep learning algorithms can automatically learn feature representations from a large amount of radar data, improving the performance of target detection and recognition. This article systematically reviews and summarizes recent research progress in the intelligent processing of weak radar targets in terms of signal processing, image processing, feature extraction, target classification, and target recognition. This article discusses noise and clutter suppression, target signal enhancement, low- and high-resolution radar image and feature processing, feature extraction, and fusion. In response to the limited generalization ability, single feature expression, and insufficient interpretability of existing intelligent processing applications for weak targets, this article underscores future developments from the aspects of small sample object detection (based on transfer learning and reinforcement learning), multidimensional and multifeature fusion, network model interpretability, and joint knowledge- and data-driven processing. ©The Author(s) 2024.