An Introduction to Passive Radar

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Passive radar systems encompass a class of radar systems that detect and track objects by processing reflections from non-cooperative sources of illumination in the environment, such as commercial broadcast and communications signals. In the early 1950s, some interesting properties of the scattered radar energy in bistatic radar systems were considered, which contributed the development of passive radar technology. Since 1980s, the passive radar systems aroused more and more research attentions from academia and industry. Several advantages can be obtained by passive radar, such as lower cost of procurement, operation and maintenance, physically small and flexible deployment, high capabilities against stealth aircraft, jamming and anti-radiation. This is a comprehensive book on passive radar and bistatic technology, introducing the basic principles and the key technologies of performance prediction, detection and tracking of passive radar, and the future developments and applications and the latest technical progress in recent years. In particular, the core technology of bistatic radars discussed and compared, which provides a good overview and coverage of adaptive and block processing schemes, and interference suppression approaches for passive radar system. In addition, this book also introduces the application of bistatic passive radar system paradigm, including kinds of illuminators and various processing cases, which will provide an important technical support and reference for the design and processing of the novel passive radar system. The book will most help the readers to obtain a solid foundation in the fundamental properties and a comprehensive understanding of the basic principles of passive radar system, high capabilities to solve the practical problems in passive radar application. This monograph can be a powerful reference for relative researchers from academia and industry to develop practical applications or exploit the academic essence of passive radar system. -- Teng Long, CIE Fellow, IET Fellow, IEEE Senior Member, Assistant President * Beijing Institute of Technology * To imagine that the room in which you are currently sitting is full of the reflections of dozens of broadcast transmitters from hundreds of distant aircraft and environmental features is quite remarkable. To understand that it is possible to then receive and process these signals to detect and track those aircraft at distances of tens or hundreds of kilometers using little more than a digital receiver and personal computer is even more so. In this comprehensive and accessible review of the subject, the authors provide a comprehensive introduction to the state-of-the-art of passive radar. Starting with an overview of the field since the earliest experiments, the book systematically takes the reader through the physics and mathematics of passive radar systems, identifying the unique challenges and opportunities of this fascinating class of radar. After considering the unique geometrical aspects of passive radars, the book looks at the scattering properties of targets, the radar properties of different broadcast signals and then discusses the different elements of signal processing needed to suppress unwanted interference, and then detect and track the targets. The book distinguishes itself from other radar textbooks by its clear prose, selection of key references and its emphasis on practical examples from real passive radar systems developed in recent years. This ensures that the book is not only the perfect companion text for any graduate student or engineer wishing to learn more about the topic, but also an enjoyable and engaging read. If I was to buy one book on the subject of passive radar, this is the one I would choose. Comprehensive, practical, accessible and a perfect springboard into the wider published literature, I highly recommend it. -- Dr. Paul Howland, Chief of Command and Control Services * NATO Communications and Information Agency *