Space-based bistatic GMTI using low resolution SAR

A new approach for matched filtering of moving targets using long dwell time Synthetic Aperture Radar, SAR, is presented. The approach eliminates the need for the matched filter to track the envelope of a target as it moves through different range bins. The process uses a keystone format mapping of the raw radar data which eliminates the effects of linear range migration. After keystoning, multiple two dimensional quadratic phase references are used to match all possible target accelerations. This matched filter approach is applied to a strawman spaced-based bistatic surveillance system for detecting targets in ground clutter with velocities up to 50 mph (22 m/sec). Matched filter performance is simulated and estimates are made of the processing resource requirements showing that onboard processing is feasible.