Long-Time Coherent Integration for High Maneuvering Weak Target Detection Based on SoKT-NuFFT

This letter proposes a coherent integration approach for weak target detection with constant radial jerk in a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environment. In the proposed approach, the second-order keystone transform (SoKT) is first employed to correct the quadratic range migration (QRM) induced by the radial acceleration of a target. Next, a velocity-jerk matched filter is constructed to eliminate the residual target radial velocity and jerk terms. Finally, the coherent integration is achieved through nonuniform fast Fourier transform (NuFFT) along the slow time. Compared with the conventional methods, the proposed approach can obtain comparable accumulation performance with a lower computational complexity. The simulation and real-measurement experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed approach in low SNR environments.