GL-DT: Multi-UAV Detection and Tracking With Global–Local Integration

The extensive application of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) in military reconnaissance, environmental monitoring, and related domains has created an urgent need for accurate and efficient multiobject tracking (MOT) technologies, which are also essential for UAV situational awareness. However, complex backgrounds, small-scale targets, and frequent occlusions and interactions continue to challenge existing methods in terms of detection accuracy (DetA) and trajectory continuity. To address these issues, this article proposes the global–LD and tracking (GL-DT) framework. It uses a spatiotemporal feature fusion (STFF) module to jointly model motion and appearance features, combined with a global–local collaborative detection strategy, effectively enhancing small-target detection. Building upon this, the JPTrack tracking algorithm is introduced to mitigate common issues such as ID switches (IDSWs) and trajectory fragmentation. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly improves the continuity and stability of MOT while maintaining real-time performance, providing strong support for the advancement of UAV detection and tracking technologies.