Microlocal structure of inverse synthetic aperture radar data

We consider the problem of all-weather identification of airborne targets. We show that structural elements of the target correspond to identifiable features of the radar data. Our approach is based on high-frequency scattering methods but is not limited to the standard weak-scatterer approximation: we also analyse multiple scattering and structural dispersion (situations normally interpreted in terms of poorly behaved image 'artifacts'). This work suggests a method for target identification that circumvents the need to create an intermediate radar image from which the object's characteristics are to be extracted. As such, this scheme may be applicable to efficient machine-based radar identification programmes.