Cognitive Radar Principles and Application to Interference Reduction

Abstract

The ongoing increasing demand for electromagnetic spectrum due to a strongly developing market for communication systems makes it difficult to perform safe operation of modern radar systems as there are more and more emitters operating at nearby frequencies. Also the operation of several radar systems of the same kind may rise interference problems in cases where the available bandwidth is limited and leading to overlapping in frequency regions. Interferences caused by those circumstances can cause significant performance losses of the radar systems. By means of a new radar concept, which is known under the title “Cognitive Radar” [1], [2] new solutions for this problem can be found. This paper discusses the architecture of how the “Cognitive Radar” can be constructed, i.e. which components are necessary in the architecture and how they have to interact with each other to characterize a “Cognitive Radar” approach. As an example, a method using adaptive processing for suppression of strong interference signals is presented. Finally, a quick overview of applications in upcoming radar systems, which achieve a significant market advantage with the help of this new technology, will be presented.