A Block Method Using the Chirp Rate Estimation for NLFM Radar Pulse Reconstruction

This paper presents a novel approach to fast and accurate non-linear pulse signal reconstruction dedicated for electromagnetic sensors and their applications such as ELectronic INTelligence (ELINT), electronic warfare (EW), electronic reconnaissance (ER) systems, as well as for passive bistatic radar purposes in which other pulse radars are used as a source of illumination. The method is based on the instantaneous chirp rate (CR) estimation in the time-frequency (TF) domain providing a calculation of the frequency rate between every two consecutive samples. Such a new method allows for the precise reconstruction of the non-linear frequency modulated (NLFM) signal to be carried out in significantly shorter time in comparison to methods known in the literature. The presented approach was tested and validated using both simulated and real-life radar signals proving the usability of the proposed solution in practical applications. The results were compared with the precise extended generalized chirp transform (EGCT) method as a reference technique, using optimal matched filtration as the main concept.