Abstract: A radar system, apparatus, architecture, and method are provided for generating a mono-static virtual array aperture by using a radar control processing unit to construct a mono-static MIMO virtual array aperture from radar signals transmitted orthogonally from transmit antennas and received at each receive antennas, and to construct a mono-static MIMO forward difference virtual array aperture by performing forward difference co-array processing on the mono-static MIMO virtual array aperture to fill in holes in the mono-static MIMO virtual array aperture, thereby mitigating or suppressing spurious sidelobes caused by gaps or holes in the mono-static MIMO virtual array aperture.

Abstract: A distributed radar system, apparatus, architecture, and method is provided for coherently combining physically distributed radars to jointly produce target scene information in a coherent fashion without sharing a common local oscillator (LO) reference by configuring a first (slave) radar to apply fast and slow time processing steps to target returns generated from a second (master) radar, to compute an estimated frequency offset and an estimated phase offset between the first and second radars based on information derived from the fast and slow time processing steps, and to apply the estimated frequency offset and estimated phase offset to generate a bi-static virtual array aperture at the first radar that is coherent in frequency and phase with a mono-static virtual array aperture generated at the second radar, thereby achieving better sensitivity, finer angular resolution, and low false detection rate.

Abstract: A distributed aperture bi-static radar system, apparatus, architecture, and method is provided for coherently combining physically distributed radars to jointly produce target scene information in a coherent fashion by alternately selecting first and second small aperture devices to operate as the master unit so that radar signals are sequentially transmitted from every transmit antenna in the first and second small aperture devices, thereby enabling the radar control processing unit to coherently combine mono-static and bi-static virtual array apertures from the first and second small aperture radar devices to construct an extended bi-static MIMO virtual army aperture that is larger than the bi-static MIMO virtual array apertures produced by the first and second small aperture radar devices.

Abstract: A radar system, apparatus, architecture, and method are provided for generating a mono-static virtual array aperture by using a radar control processing unit to construct a mono-static MIMO virtual array aperture from radar signals transmitted orthogonally from transmit antennas and received at each receive antennas, and to construct a mono-static MIMO forward difference virtual array aperture by performing forward difference co-array processing on the mono-static MIMO virtual array aperture to fill in holes in the mono-static MIMO virtual array aperture, thereby mitigating or suppressing spurious sidelobes caused by gaps or holes in the mono-static MIMO virtual array aperture.

Abstract: A distributed aperture bi-static radar system, apparatus, architecture, and method is provided for coherently combining physically distributed radars to jointly produce target scene information in a coherent fashion by alternately selecting first and second small aperture devices to operate as the master unit so that radar signals are sequentially transmitted from every transmit antenna in the first and second small aperture devices, thereby enabling the radar control processing unit to coherently combine mono-static and bi-static virtual array apertures from the first and second small aperture radar devices to construct an extended bi-static MIMO virtual army aperture that is larger than the bi-static MIMO virtual array apertures produced by the first and second small aperture radar devices.

Abstract: A distributed radar system, apparatus, architecture, and method is provided for coherently combining physically distributed radars to jointly produce target scene information in a coherent fashion without sharing a common local oscillator (LO) reference by configuring a first (slave) radar to apply fast and slow time processing steps to target returns generated from a second (master) radar, to compute an estimated frequency offset and an estimated phase offset between the first and second radars based on information derived from the fast and slow time processing steps, and to apply the estimated frequency offset and estimated phase offset to generate a bi-static virtual array aperture at the first radar that is coherent in frequency and phase with a mono-static virtual array aperture generated at the second radar, thereby achieving better sensitivity, finer angular resolution, and low false detection rate.