Pulse Doppler radar and moving target indication (MTI) are both radar techniques used to detect and track moving targets, but they operate based on different principles. Pulse Doppler radar combines pulse radar with Doppler processing to distinguish stationary and moving targets. It uses short pulses to determine the range and measures the Doppler shift of the returned signal to determine the target speed.
Pulse Doppler radar is effective at detecting targets in the presence of clutter and can provide information on target movement, making it suitable for applications such as weather monitoring, air traffic control and military surveillance.
MTI radar, on the other hand, is a specific implementation in radar systems designed to remove clutter and detect moving targets. It relies on coherent processing techniques to cancel out echoes from stationary objects or clutter, allowing it to focus on detecting Doppler shift caused by moving targets.
MTI Radar uses multiple pulses to create a moving average or moving difference filter, which improves the radar’s ability to detect and track moving targets while rejecting yields from stationary objects. MTI radar is particularly useful in environments where clutter is prevalent, such as in ground surveillance, maritime navigation and military applications.
Continuous wave (CW) radar and MTI radar are fundamentally different in their operating principles and capabilities. CW radar emits a continuous wave of radio frequency (RF) energy without interruption.
It does not use pulses and therefore does not have the ability to measure range directly. Instead, CW radar detects Doppler shift caused by moving targets, allowing it to determine target speed but not range. CW radar is used in applications such as speed radar for traffic enforcement, radar altimeters, and some types of radar astronomy.
The MTI radar, as discussed previously, uses pulse radar technology with coherent processing techniques to remove clutter and detect moving targets.
It uses multiple pulses to distinguish moving and stationary objects based on the Doppler shift of the returned signals. MTI radar offers improved clutter rejection compared to CW radar and is capable of detecting and tracking moving targets while filtering out echoes from stationary objects. It is widely used in military surveillance, air defense systems and applications where detection and tracking of target movements is essential