Long-Time Coherent Integration for High Maneuvering Weak Target Detection Based on SoKT-NuFFT

This letter proposes a coherent integration approach for weak target detection with constant radial jerk in a low signal-to-noise (SNR) environment. In the proposed approach, the second-order Keystone transform (SoKT) is first employed to correct the quadratic range migration (QRM) induced by the radial acceleration of a target. Next, a velocity-jerk matched filter is constructed to eliminate the residual target radial velocity and jerk terms. Finally, the coherent integration is achieved through non-uniform fast Fourier transform (NuFFT) along the slow time. Compared with the conventional methods, the proposed approach can obtain comparable accumulation performance with a lower computational complexity. Simulation and real-measurement experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed approach in low SNR environments.