Robust Beamforming for Space-based SAR Phased Arrays with Distributed Interferer Suppression

Abstract

Phased arrays find application in space-based synthetic aperture radars (SAR). Beamforming can be used in these phased arrays to receive desired radar returns and to suppress unwanted returns and interfering signals. Usually, the number of interferers and their location is not known or may vary. Also, the distance from interferers to the SAR varies. Here, a new robust beamforming algorithm is proposed for the case when the interferers are distributed with a specific distribution. This algorithm is applied to a satellite case study and the results are compared with the equi-sidelobe beamformer.