New angle-of-arrival estimator - Comparative evaluation applied to the low-angle tracking radar problem

This paper examines a new, fast, high-performance angle-of-arrival estimator (AOA) called the QR-based spectrum estimation algorithm. The AOA is applied to the low-angle tracking problem in radar, and the performance is compared to the MUSIC and modified FBLP algorithms using real data collected from an experimental low-angle tracking radar simulator operated over water. It is found that the QR technique is virtually the same as that of MUSIC, yet does not require time-consuming eigendecompositions. Speedup factors on the order of 10 times the dimension of the covariance matrix are expected with the QR method. All the AOA estimators considered behave well when applied to the low-angle tracking problem.