SAR Automatic Target Recognition Based on Numerical Scattering Simulation and Model-based Matching

Abstract

This study proposes a model-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) automatic target recognition algorithm. Scattering is computed offline using the laboratory-developed Bidirectional Analytic Ray Tracing software and the same system parameter settings as the Moving and Stationary Target Acquisition and Recognition (MSTAR) datasets. SAR images are then created by simulated electromagnetic scattering data. Shape features are extracted from the measured and simulated images, and then, matches are searched. The algorithm is verified using three types of targets from MSTAR data and simulated SAR images, and it is shown that the proposed approach is fast and easy to implement with high accuracy.