Radar Target Classification Based on High Resolution Range Profile Segmentation and Ensemble Classification

Radar target range profile possesses advantages in many target recognition problems. Feature extraction techniques could optimize target recognition performance, but conventional methods neglect specific characters of electromagnetic scattering mechanisms in range profiles. This letter introduces a range profile segmentation algorithm, which decomposes target range profile into segments corresponding to particular electromagnetic scattering mechanisms. Segment type identification and weighing algorithms are also developed for ensemble classification strategy. Results indicate that the proposed method could achieve comparable classification accuracy as advanced neural networks but requires far fewer computational resources to guarantee its application flexibility.