New radar synchronization method cuts costs for military and civilian networks
Researchers have developed a low-cost technique to synchronize radar networks without expensive long-distance signal sharing, solving a critical barrier for detecting stealth aircraft and improving detection accuracy. The breakthrough could reshape how defense contractors and infrastructure operators deploy multi-radar systems at a fraction of current expenses.
Originaltitel: Bistatic Radar Network, a Low-Cost Radar Synchronization Solution
<p>Bistatic configuration is one of the useful arrangements in radar applications. There are many benefits to bistatic geometry, one of which is the capability to intercept stealthy targets and reduce the vulnerability of the receiver side, stemming from the separation of the transmitter and receiver(s). In a network of radars, monostatic, bistatic, and even multistatic configurations can coexist, providing spatial diversity for better, more accurate detection and ranging. A key requirement for bistatic or multistatic configurations is the integrity of the transmitter and receiver signals. Specifically, for a network of FMCW radars, it is challenging to share the Local Oscillator (LO) over long distances due to the millimeter wavelength order. Additionally, other parameters can cause incoherence between independent FMCW radars, including ramp bandwidth, chirp duration, oscillator phase noise, carrier frequency, and phase. In this paper, a study of all these impacting parameters is conducted. An effective and low-cost technique to improve the coherence in the timing profiles of two radars is also proposed. </p>