SWaP optimised parameter extraction of radar signals for space electronic intelligence application

Abstract

Space-based electronic intelligence system provides wide coverage and unrestricted access to adversary radar signals. These systems play a vital role in strategic intelligence gathering for assessing electronic order of battle. These systems need to be SWaP optimized with highly efficient algorithms to extract accurate radar parameters. The realization of such a system is a persistent challenge due to the limited availability of space graded components and associated tools. Towards this, the paper deliberates upon various signal processing algorithms to achieve highly accurate direction-of-arrival (DOA), high-frequency resolution and precise timing information for pulse width and pulse repetition frequency extraction. All the proposed algorithms have been implemented, ported and tested on Xilinx Kintex Ultra Scale FPGA KU060 and being evaluated in the radiation setups to establish the performance. High DOA accuracy and frequency accuracy of the order of 0.3 degree and 0.64 MHz respectively have been achieved.