The main problem faced by sea radars is the elimination of an undesirable signal that appears mixed with target information: sea clutter. The clutter results from the echo caused by the rebound of the primary emission at sea surface. One of the most popular probability distributions in clutter modelling is the Weibull distribution. Helpful in efficient detectors’ design, a system able to recognize the Weibull shape parameter knowing a priori that the mean of the distribution is equal to zero is proposed. The result is appropriate for real time operating conditions as it is based on a neural networks approximation in the estimator role.

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-The discrimination of the clutter interfering signal is a current problem in modern radars' design, especially in coastal or offshore environments where the histogram of the background signal often displays heavy tails. The statistical characterization of this signal is very important for the cancellation of sea clutter, whose behavior obeys a K distribution according to the commonly accepted criterion. By using neural networks, the authors propose a new method for estimating the K shape parameter, demonstrating its superiority over the classic alternative based on the Method of Moments. Whereas both solutions have a similar performance when the entire range of possible values of the shape parameter is evaluated, the neuronal alternative achieves a much more accurate estimation for the lower Fig.s of the parameter. This is exactly the desired behavior because the best estimate occurs for the most aggressive states of sea clutter. The final design, reached by processing three different sets of computer generated K samples, used a total of nine neural networks whose contribution is synthesized in the final estimate, thus the solution can be interpreted as a deep learning approximation. The results are to be applied in the improvement of radar detectors, particularly for maintaining the operational false alarm probability close to the one conceived in the design.

-Oceanic and coastal radars operation is affected because the targets information is received mixed with and undesired contribution called sea clutter. Specifically, the popular CA-CFAR processor is incapable of maintaining its design false alarm probability when facing clutter with statistical variations. In opposition to the classic alternative suggesting the use of a fixed adjustment factor, the authors propose a modification of the CA-CFAR scheme where the factor is constantly corrected according on the background signal statistical changes. Mathematically translated as a variation in the shape parameter of the clutter distribution, the background signal changes were simulated through the Weibull, Log-Normal and K distributions, deriving expressions which allow choosing an appropriate factor for each possible statistical state. The investigation contributes to the improvement of radar detection by suggesting the application of an adaptive scheme which assumes the clutter shape parameter is known a priori. The offered mathematical expressions are valid for three false alarm probabilities and several windows sizes, covering also a wide range of clutter conditions.

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