Modified Multi-Mode Target Tracker for High-Frequency Surface Wave Radar

Abstract

In high-frequency surface wave radar (HFSWR), part of the radiation signal inevitably propagates upward and illuminates the target through the ionosphere due to the poor controllability of the antenna’s vertical pattern. As a result, a target may have several echoes from different propagation modes, which affect target detection and tracking and is usually unmanageable in existing HFSWR systems. Without the information of the elevation angle, it is difficult to distinguish the propagation mode of measurements during the target detection phase. This paper makes the first attempt to propose a multi-mode target tracker for HFSWR to solve this problem during the target tracking phase. The multipath probability data association (MPDA) tracker is capable of exploiting multipath target signatures of discrete propagation modes and has been widely used. Based on this, we construct a modified multi-mode probability data association tracker for HFSWR to suppress false tracks caused by multiple propagation modes. Numerical simulations demonstrate that this novel tracker can effectively and accurately track the target from the measurements under multiple propagation modes in HFSWR. The processing results of the actual data collected in Weihai, China indicate that this tracker is of great significance for practical applications.

Keywords

• HFSWR
• target tracking
• multipath
• MPDA