Mainlobe Deceptive Interference Suppression With Planar Frequency Diverse Array MIMO Radar

Frequency diversity array (FDA) is capable of suppressing mainlobe deceptive interference with delays exceeding one pulse relative to the true target, known as interpulse interference. However, current FDA-based interference suppression methods are ineffective when both interpulse and intrapulse interferences coexist. To this end, we propose a two-stage mainlobe deceptive interference suppression method with planar FDA (PFDA) multiple-input–multiple-output radar: First, horizontal transmit spatial frequency compensation is applied using the range information of each range bin to differentiate between interpulse interferences and target. Subsequently, data-independent beamforming is performed to suppress interpulse interferences in the horizontal spatial frequency domain. Second, to distinguish the target from intrapulse interferences, vertical transmit spatial frequency compensation is applied utilizing the initial range of the range bin containing target. Afterward, an adaptive beamforming approach based on transmit–receive spatial smoothing is applied to suppress intrapulse interference while avoiding target cancelation. Furthermore, the frequency increments in both rows and columns of PFDA are elaborately designed to effectively distinguish between true target and interferences. Extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the excellent suppression effect of the proposed scheme against the mainlobe deceptive interference.