Deghosting method for cross localization in distributed high frequency surface wave radar

Abstract In this article, the challenging problem of multi‐target cross localization within a novel distributed high‐frequency surface wave radar (HFSWR) is tackled. This system consists of two transmitter‐receiver pairs, each of which can correspondingly generate a set of Range‐Doppler measurements. By associating the Range‐Doppler measurements from the same target, the individual target location can be derived using the associated measurements. However, when multiple targets are involved, it is unknown which measurements originate from the same target, leading to ambiguities in the measurement‐to‐measurement association. False associations can result in ghosts, ultimately degrading the overall system performance. To deal with the ghosts, a three‐stage deghosting method is proposed that incorporates the geometric characteristics of the system, the velocity features of the targets, and the motion features of the targets across multiple frames. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method compared with the other investigated deghosting algorithms. The proposed approach exhibits robust target detection capability while significantly reducing both the OSPA error and the cardinality error.