Introduction. The possibility of application of modified parametric methods of spatial signal processing in a sparse antenna array (SEAA) of the receiving position of transportable over-the-horizon decameter range radar (DRR) intended for all-weather remote monitoring of the shelf zone is considered in this paper. With an operational deployment of DRR on unprepared coast, problems of the equidistant location of antenna elements (AEs) often arise. In the case of nonequidistant AEs location and matched spatial processing, antenna pattern has interference sidelobes, which level can significantly exceed the allowable or calculated one for an equidistant AA. A well-known alternative to matched processing are parametric methods of spectral analysis based on the using of models with a finite number of parameters, but their direct application requires an equidistant sampling of the spatial signal.Aim. The aim of the research is to develop and analyze the method of parametric processing of spatial signals of the SEAA which AEs are located on the line with a random step in the range from λ/2 to several λ, where λ is the DRR wavelength.Materials and methods. To construct the detection characteristics (DC) computer modeling in the MatLab environment, the reliability of which was confirmed by the construction of known and theoretically calculated DC, was used.Results. The developed method includes a procedure of restoring (synthesizing) of artificial signal of equidistant AA with subsequent application of Burg parametric algorithm to obtain an estimate of the angular spatial frequency spectrum. To prove the applicability of the parametric method of SEAA signals processing in the case of location signals detecting, DC were obtained and compared with optimal ones.Conclusions. The obtained results have proved the suboptimality of the parametric method of SEAA signal processing at the random AEs spacing step lying in the range from λ/2 to 3λ, what makes it possible to recommend it for using in transportable DRRs.

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