Target maneuver discrimination using ISAR image in interception

Discrimination for target maneuver magnitude and direction switching during the endgame is significant for interception performance improvement. Inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) images carry the information related to target motion parameters. It is feasible to use them to discriminate the maneuver. An imaging model in interception is first formulated. The principle of maneuver discrimination using the ISAR images is then fully explored. A novel and practical discriminator is developed with a rigorous analysis of the scenario characteristics. The discriminator parameter selection and some important factors affecting the discrimination performance are discussed comprehensively. Finally, a simulation environment with software tools capable of generating target-realistic ISAR images is developed. The simulation results confirm the rationality of the design procedure and demonstrate that the proposed discriminator performs better than the classical innovation-based maneuver discriminator.