A Deception Jamming Discrimination Algorithm Based on Phase Fluctuation for Airborne Distributed Radar System

ObjectiveDeception jamming in airborne distributed radar systems presents a crucial challenge, as false echoes generated by Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) devices tend to mimic true target returns in amplitude, delay, and Doppler characteristics. These similarities complicate target recognition and subsequently degrade tracking accuracy. To address this problem, attention is directed to phase fluctuation signatures, which differ inherently between authentic scattering responses and synthesized interference replicas. Leveraging this distinction is proposed as a means of improving discrimination reliability under complex electromagnetic confrontation conditions.MethodsA signal-level fusion discrimination algorithm is proposed based on phase fluctuation variance. Five categories of synchronization errors that affect the phase of received echoes are analyzed and corrected, including filter mismatch, node position errors, and equivalent amplitude-phase deviations. Precise matched filters are constructed through a fine-grid iterative search to eliminate residual phase distortion caused by limited sampling resolution. Node position errors are estimated using a DRFM-based calibration array, and equivalent amplitude-phase deviations are corrected through an eigendecomposition-based procedure. After calibration, phase vectors associated with target returns are extracted, and the variance of these vectors is taken as the discrimination criterion. Authentic targets present large phase fluctuations due to complex scattering, whereas DRFM-generated replicas exhibit only small variations.Results and DiscussionsSimulation results show that the proposed method achieves reliable discrimination under typical airborne distributed radar conditions. When the signal-to-noise ratio is 25 dB and the jamming-to-noise ratio is 3 dB, the misjudgment rate for false targets approaches zero when more than five receiving nodes are used (Fig. 10, Fig. 11). The method remains robust even when only a few false targets are present and performs better than previously reported approaches, where discrimination fails in single- or dual-false-target scenarios (Fig. 14). High recognition stability is maintained across different jamming-to-noise ratios and receiver quantities (Fig. 13). The importance of system-level error correction is confirmed, as discrimination accuracy declines significantly when synchronization errors are not compensated (Fig. 12).ConclusionsA phase-fluctuation-based discrimination algorithm for airborne distributed radar systems is presented. By correcting system-level errors and exploiting the distinct fluctuation behavior of phase signatures from real and false echoes, the method achieves reliable deception-jamming discrimination in complex electromagnetic environments. Simulations indicate stable performance under varying numbers of false targets, demonstrating good applicability for distributed configurations. Future work will aim to enhance robustness under stronger environmental noise and clutter.