How many Doppler filters are in the Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR)?

How many Doppler filters are in the Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR)?

• A. 7
• B. 5
• C. 3
• D. 9

Answer: (B)

In a primary surveillance radar, clutter suppression relies on moving target indication (MTI) processing that uses a bank of Doppler filters. These filters separate returns by Doppler frequency, letting through signals that come from moving targets while attenuating stationary clutter near zero Doppler. Having a five-filter Doppler bank provides enough Doppler bins to effectively cancel clutter over the typical ground return range while still preserving detection of targets moving at various speeds. Five is a balanced configuration: it gives sufficient degrees of freedom to suppress ground clutter without adding unnecessary hardware complexity. Fewer filters would reduce clutter rejection capability, while more filters would complicate the system without a proportional gain in performance for most PSR applications.

In a primary surveillance radar, clutter suppression relies on moving target indication (MTI) processing that uses a bank of Doppler filters. These filters separate returns by Doppler frequency, letting through signals that come from moving targets while attenuating stationary clutter near zero Doppler. Having a five-filter Doppler bank provides enough Doppler bins to effectively cancel clutter over the typical ground return range while still preserving detection of targets moving at various speeds.

Five is a balanced configuration: it gives sufficient degrees of freedom to suppress ground clutter without adding unnecessary hardware complexity. Fewer filters would reduce clutter rejection capability, while more filters would complicate the system without a proportional gain in performance for most PSR applications.