Analysis of a cascaded MTI system in a multiple-clutter environment

To suppress the clutter interference in a multiple-clutter environment, a multiple-stage MTI filter may be used. Each stage of this multiple-stage filter may be optimized for rejection of one specific clutter of the many types of clutter which are contained in the radar echoes. In this paper, it is first shown that a multiple-stage MTI filter is equivalent to a single stage filter with the same number of delays. The design for optimal performance of such a filter in a multiple clutter environment is then presented. It then shows that the design of each stage of a multiple-stage filter separately, each for a specific clutter type, does not yield an optimal result. Computer results comparing the performances of the optimal and non-optimal designs are presented.