Tracking in multistatic passive radar systems using DAB/DVB-T illumination

A multistatic passive radar system exploits illuminators of opportunity like radio or television transmitters for target surveillance. In this paper we analyze the use of the illumination of television or radio stations broadcasting digital signals (DAB/DVB-T) from a target tracking view point. An important characteristic of this type of illuminators is the joint operation of several illuminators in a single frequency network (SFN). As a consequence it is a priori unknown which measurement belongs to which illuminator. This property expands the typical association task of associating measurements with targets by the task of associating measurements with illuminators. In this paper we present a comprehensive concept for target tracking in DAB/DVB-T networks accounting for the characteristics of this signal. The derived algorithms will be tested with respect to numerical simulations including a sensitivity study for parameter mismatch between simulations and tracking model. ► We discuss the task of target tracking in DAB/DVB-T networks. ► Two tracking strategies are developed from these requirements: the likelihood ratio (LR) and the integer programming (IP) based approach. ► We study the sensitivity of the two algorithms in case of model mismatch. ► The IP approach obtains good target detection performance at the expense of a increased false track rate.