Multistatic passive radar geometry optimization for target 3D positioning accuracy

The paper presents a design procedure for a multistatic passive radar system, that aims at its performance optimization, in terms of 3D positioning accuracy. Specifically, the proposed procedure considers the main features of the considered air traffic control scenario and the main physical and geometrical features of the passive radar receivers and guides the designer to select the geometry that maximizes the three-dimensional target positioning accuracy. The procedure can be applied to any type of sources of opportunity, the final accuracy results being inversely scaled by their frequency band occupancy. The proposed procedure has been applied to two different air traffic control scenarios, namely an en-route flight and an approach path. The results show that a multistatic passive radar system with just two or three transmitters of opportunity and a single receiver is able to localize targets with positioning accuracy comparable to conventional air traffic control systems. © 2010 EuMA