Adaptive CFAR radar detection with conic rejection

In this paper, we deal with the problem of adaptive signal detection in colored Gaussian disturbance. Since the classical receivers may exhibit severe performance degradations in the presence of steering vector mismatches and sidelobe interfering signals, we try to account for the quoted drawbacks, very usual in realistic radar scenarios, at the design stage. To this end, we first characterize the set where the useful received signal may lie and its complement, i.e., the set which may contain the signals to be rejected. Then we resort to the generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) principle and devise detectors capable of operating in the presence of array response mismatches and sidelobe interfering signals. At the analysis stage, we assess the performance of the newly introduced receivers also in comparison with previously proposed detectors. The results show that the new processors are characterized by a wide range of performance compromises, selectable at the design stage through the regulation of a design parameter, between the detection of useful signals and the rejection of sidelobe interference.