Why Read This Book

You will get a clear, engineering-focused foundation in how radar systems work end-to-end — from the radar equation and antennas to detection, Doppler processing, and system tradeoffs. The book emphasizes the signal-processing methods (matched filtering, pulse compression, FFT/spectral analysis, MTI/pulse-Doppler and statistical detection) that you can apply directly when designing or analyzing practical radar systems.

Who Will Benefit

Undergraduate/graduate students and practicing radar or signal-processing engineers who need a rigorous but accessible reference to design, analyze, or implement radar systems and their DSP chains.

Level: Intermediate — Prerequisites: Undergraduate-level calculus, linear systems/signals, basic probability and random processes, and introductory electromagnetics/antenna concepts.

Key Takeaways

• Understand the radar equation and quantitatively evaluate radar detection range and performance under realistic noise and clutter conditions.
• Apply matched filtering, pulse compression, and FFT-based spectral analysis to improve resolution and detectability of radar returns.
• Design and analyze MTI and pulse-Doppler processors to detect moving targets and suppress clutter and noise.
• Evaluate antenna performance and beamforming tradeoffs relevant to resolution, sidelobe control, and phased-array systems.
• Use statistical detection theory to set thresholds, compute probabilities of detection/false alarm, and apply CFAR techniques.
• Analyze scattering, propagation, and system-level tradeoffs to translate component specs into end-to-end radar performance.

Topics Covered

1. Introduction and history of radar
2. The radar equation and basic performance
3. Waveforms, pulse compression, and matched filtering
4. CW and Doppler radar; velocity measurement
5. MTI, pulse-Doppler processing, and clutter suppression
6. Detection theory, probability of detection, and false alarm
7. Antennas, beamforming, and phased arrays
8. Propagation, atmospheric effects, and ducting
9. Radar cross section and target scattering
10. Signal processing: FFT, spectral analysis, and resolution
11. Noise, interference, and electronic countermeasures
12. System design considerations and radar architectures
13. Special topics: airborne/spaceborne radars and synthetic aperture radar (overview)
14. Appendices: mathematical and physical background

Languages, Platforms & Tools

How It Compares

Skolnik's Introduction is broader and more system-oriented than Mark A. Richards' Fundamentals of Radar Signal Processing (which dives deeper into modern DSP algorithms); for an encyclopedic reference, Skolnik's Radar Handbook (or later editions) complements this introductory text.