Determining the importance of learning the underlying dynamics of sea clutter for radar target detection

Existing evidence for and against sea clutter being chaotic and nonlinearly predictable is briefly discussed. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the chaotic nature of sea clutter, and its nonlinear predictability, the purpose of this paper is to examine what the best design criterion is for a nonlinear predictor which is to be used to detect targets against clutter which is known to be chaotic: mean square error performance or capturing the chaotic clutter’s underlying dynamics. Single pulse detection analysis using a Swerling I target and chaotic “clutter” is carried out using predictor-based detectors in an attempt to determine which criterion is most suitable. The predictor detectors are compared with standard detection strategies.