Down-Looking Airborne Radar Imaging Performance: The Multi-Line and Multi-Frequency

Abstract

The paper proposes an analytical study regarding airborne radar imaging performances and accounts for a down-looking radar system moving along parallel lines far, in terms of probing wavelength, from the investigated domain and collecting multi-frequency and multi-monostatic data. The imaging problem is formulated in a constant depth plane by exploiting the Born approximation. Hence, a linear inverse scattering problem is faced by considering both the Adjoint and the Truncated Singular Value Decomposition reconstruction schemes. Analytical and simulated results are provided to state how the achievable performances depend on the measurement configuration. These results are of practical usefulness because, in operative conditions, it is unfeasible to plan a flight grid made up by a high number of closely (in terms of probing wavelength) spaced lines. Hence, the understanding of how the availability of under-sampled data affects the radar imaging allows for a trade-off between operative data collection constrains and reliable reconstructions of the scenario under test.

Keywords

• radar imaging
• unmanned aerial vehicle
• airborne
• inverse scattering
• linear scattering models
• radar signal processing