Correction of the filtered full velocity vector using an independent estimate of its radial component in a multifunction radar

The paper addresses the problem of improving the accuracy of the course and horizontal speed magnitude estimates produced by coordinate filtering in a multifunction radar operating in continuous-tracking mode with a high data-output rate, where the per-update object displacement is comparable to the single-measurement coordinate error. Under these conditions, the course and speed estimates obtained by differentiating noisy coordinates fluctuate from scan to scan, whereas the radial velocity (range rate), measured directly by the Doppler method, remains stable. A method is proposed for correcting the filtered full velocity vector estimate using an independently filtered radial-velocity estimate: the velocity vector is projected onto the constraint imposed by the radial velocity, with weights given by the variances of the coordinate filter; the course is reconciled with an independent geometric estimate from the track; the result is smoothed with inertia. The method does not change the coordinate estimate. Monte Carlo simulation (2000 runs per scenario) on three typical scenarios – helicopter, airplane, ballistic object – shows that the method reduces the course RMSE by a factor of 2.1 and the horizontal-speed-magnitude RMSE by a factor of 1.8–2.9 for the maneuvering objects; for the ballistic object it gives no benefit in course, which is already accurate, but reduces the speed-magnitude RMSE by a factor of 1.6 owing to a residual mismatch between the constant-acceleration coordinate filter and the true, non-constant deceleration. The method’s applicability condition and the gain’s sensitivity to update period, observation geometry, measurement accuracy, and maneuver intensity are examined separately.

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