Remotely Piloted Aircraft Detection with Persistent Radar

Abstract

This paper presents experimental results on drone detection with a persistent frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar system, working at 8.75 GHz (X-band). The system and its main blocks are briefly introduced. Subsequently, the document presents the chosen scenario for the tests, and shows the results of the signal processing, achieving a DJI-Phantom-4 detection at a range up to 2 km. The results are illustrated with range-Doppler matrices and detection figures. Range, speed and azimuth accuracies are discussed, considering the drone GPS data. Finally, the paper introduces an statistical radar-cross-section (RCS) study based on the processed data, in order to classify the drone as a Swerling target, and discusses the drone average RCS.