The Pulse Compression Concept for Radar Signals a Technology Designed Ahead of Its Time

Driven by military demands in World War II, several individuals contributed to the development of the radar technique known as pulse compression. Although not a factor to the outcome of the war and often kept under classification until the 1950s, the concept later entered the public domain and laid the foundation for the ongoing research on radar pulse compression techniques and waveform design. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of how these scientists from different countries discovered this method to significantly boost radar performance.