A new target radar cross section based passive radar surveillance receiver positioning algorithm on real terrain maps

Abstract

Placing surveillance receivers on passive radar systems is a complex task because of the dependence on third party vendors. This paper presents an efficient and robust algorithm for positioning passive radar surveillance receivers for the intended coverage based on the available transmitters of opportunity in the area. First, by using the topology maps of the area of interest, depending on the expected targets and available transmitters, visibility maps of the terrain is generated with a line of sight algorithm. Then, in terms of the position and the orientation of the targets, the bistatic radar cross sections are determined. Finally, based on the bistatic radar cross sections of the targets, antenna characteristics, visibility analysis and received power levels, the optimum location for the surveillance receiver and the best transmitter of opportunity to be employed is decided. A practical scenario by using frequency modulation radio transmitters is realized in the manuscript for the rapid deployment of a mobile passive radar system. It is shown that on a terrain with multiple transmitters, depending on the characteristics of the transmitters and intended coverage, an optimum location for the surveillance receiver can be found for rapid deployment.