Robust Beamforming Algorithm for Airborne Radar Against Patch Interference

In complex electronic countermeasure scenarios involving area-source interferences, such as those caused by chaff, the dynamic detection of high-value target clusters by airborne radars is critically challenged. This paper presents a robust beamforming optimization algorithm based on the Cross-Dimensional Decoupling Array (CDDA). This algorithm decomposes the planar array into spatially orthogonal cross-dimensional subarrays and formulates constraint conditions for mutually complementary directional domains (i.e. the desired signal and patch interference sectors). It also achieves significant sidelobe suppression in regions dominated by patch interference. Integrating slack variables with adaptive penalty parameters yields a closed-form solution for the optimal weight vector via the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM). Simulation results verify that the CDDA architecture effectively reduces hardware implementation costs and that the closed-form solution remarkably accelerates the convergence rate of the algorithm. The proposed approach enables effective suppression of patch interferences and ensures complete coverage of ship formation target clusters, demonstrating its superiority in complex electronic countermeasure operational scenarios.