K-DISTRIBUTED COHERENT SEA CLUTTER

The properties of coherently detected high-range-resolution radar sea clutter are examined with reference to those properties observed noncoherently. It is shown here how the non-Gaussian characteristics of noncoherently detected sea clutter manifest themselves in the coherent domain and how these characteristics require a thorough understanding in order to optimise any detection processing, especially if integration techniques are utilised. In particular it is demonstrated how the compound form of the K-distribution may be employed to model the amplitude statistics in individual range-Doppler cells and how such a description is necessary to take into account their correlation properties.