Moving targets detection based on multi-satellite joint passive microwave imaging

High spatial resolution can be achieved by the satellite formation-based passive interference imaging system in space, however the retrieved image may contain aliasing noise due to sparse detection baselines, which will impede the detection of single-pixel point targets. Considering the slow-varying characteristics of the observation area, a target detection method based on image sequences is proposed. The observation background is estimated by multi-frame retrieved images and historical data, and then background subtraction is applied to the retrieved images. Next, by accumulating sidelobe energy and estimating the noise in the target neighborhood, potential targets are chosen. Lastly, the tracks of the targets are acquired by analyzing the movement characteristics. In the simulation experiment, 10 satellites running in geostationary orbit are designed to detect 50 ship targets in the sea. A total of 300 trials are tested, and the average false alarm rate and average missed alarm rate are shown to be as high as 14.5% and 19.5%, respectively.