Target recognition from sar data using range profiles and a long short-term memory (lstm) network

Abstract

A method of identifying a target from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data without incurring the computational load associated with generating an SAR image. The method includes receiving SAR data collected by a radar system including RF phase history data associated with reflected RF pulses from a target in a scene, but excluding an SAR image. Range profile data is determined from the SAR data by converting the RF phase history data into a structured temporal array that can be applied as input to a classifier incorporating a recurrent neural network, such as a recurrent neural network made up of long short-term memory (LSTM) cells that are configured to recognize temporal or spatial characteristics associated with a target, and provide an identification of a target based on the recognized temporal or spatial characteristic.