Radar Detection
This book presents a comprehensive tutorial exposition of radar detection using the methods and techniques of mathematical statistics. The material presented is as current and useful to today's engineers as when the book was first published by Prentice-Hall in 1968 and then republished by Artech House in 1980. The book is divided into six parts. Part I is introductory and describes the nature of the radar detection problem. Part II reviews the mathematical tools necessary for a study of detection theory. Part III contains tutorial expositions in a radar context of the classical signal-to-noise and a posteriori theories, both of which have played important roles in the evolution of modern radar. The unifying theme of the book is provided by statistical decision theory, introduced in the last chapter of Part III, which provides the framework for the chapters that follow. The first three chapters of Part IV contain a unified tutorial exposition of single and multiple hit detection theory. The last two chapters are respectively devoted to the use of the radar equation and a discussion of cumulative detection probability. The latter includes a procedure for minimizing the power-aperture product of a search radar. The performance of near-optimum multiple hit detection strategies are considered in Part V. These include binary and pulse train detection strategies. The first chapter in Part VI applies sequential detection theory to the radar detection problem. It includes the Marcus and Swerling test strategy and a two-step approximation to sequential detection. The second chapter contains the development of Bayes decision rules and Bayes receivers for optimizing the detection of multiple targets with unknown parameters, such as range, velocity, angle, etc.
Why Read This Book
You will gain a rigorous, tutorial grounding in radar detection built on statistical decision theory, giving you the tools to derive and evaluate detectors rather than rely on recipes. The book emphasizes principled performance analysis (ROC, Pd/Pfa, SNR tradeoffs) and classical detectors (matched filters, likelihood-ratio tests, CFAR) that remain directly applicable to modern radar, communications, and DSP work.
Who Will Benefit
Ideal for graduate students and practicing radar/communications engineers who need a mathematically clear foundation in detection theory to design and analyze real-world radar and signal-detection systems.
Level: Advanced — Prerequisites: Undergraduate calculus, probability and random processes, linear systems and transforms (Fourier), and basic familiarity with signals and noise; some exposure to linear algebra is helpful.
Key Takeaways
- Apply statistical decision theory to formulate radar detection problems and derive likelihood-ratio tests
- Derive and implement matched-filter detectors and compute their detection and false-alarm performance
- Analyze detector performance using ROC curves, SNR/integration tradeoffs, and a posteriori (Bayesian) methods
- Design and understand constant false alarm rate (CFAR) techniques and handling of clutter and nonideal noise
- Extend classical detectors to Doppler, coherent/incoherent integration, and simple adaptive/sequential detection schemes
Topics Covered
- Part I — Introduction: The Radar Detection Problem and Practical Issues
- Part II — Mathematical Tools: Probability, Random Processes, and Transform Techniques
- Part III — Classical Detection Theory: Neyman–Pearson, Likelihood Ratio, and Bayesian Formulations
- Matched Filtering and the Signal-to-Noise Paradigm
- A Posteriori (Bayesian) Approaches and Decision Rules
- Performance Measures: Probability of Detection, False Alarm, ROC Analysis
- Detection in Nonideal Environments: Clutter, Non-Gaussian Noise, and Interference
- Integration and Coherent/Incoherent Processing (Pulse Integration & Doppler Processing)
- Adaptive and Sequential Detection Methods
- Practical Design Considerations: CFAR Detectors, Threshold Setting, and Examples
- Appendices: Mathematical Derivations and Useful Probability Results
How It Compares
Covers much the same theoretical ground as Van Trees' Detection, Estimation, and Modulation Theory but is more tutorial and radar-focused; for broader radar system context, pair it with Skolnik's Radar Handbook.
