A multisensor tracking system with an airborne sensor to mitigate the effect of cross-range errors

In this paper, we propose a multiple radar target tracking system that uses a mobile station, which is effective in reducing cross-range errors. The mobile station is an airplane equipped with radar and tracks the target by radar while in flight. By controlling the motion of the mobile state according to the proposed algorithm, the beams from the radars to the moving target can be orthogonal to or nearly orthogonal to each other compared to a multiple radar target tracking system that uses only conventional stationary stations. Combining the measurements from radars placed so that their beams to the target are orthogonal or nearly orthogonal can lessen the effect of increases in the cross-range errors and can obtain excellent tracking accuracy. Computer simulations compare the proposed method to a multiple radar target tracking system that used only conventional stationary stations and demonstrate its ability to obtain excellent tracking accuracy for distant targets. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.