Enhanced projectile path estimation using multi-vehicle FMCW radar sensors

Abstract

This paper presents an enhanced approach to projectile path estimation using Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar sensors distributed across multiple vehicles in a tactical formation. Building upon established FMCW radar signal processing techniques, we implement and analyze a multi-sensor approach that significantly improves the accuracy of key path parameters: pass range, pass time, and velocity. Through detailed simulation, we demonstrate that a four-vehicle formation achieves approximately 75% error reduction across all parameters compared to single-vehicle sensing. This improvement directly enhances the performance of active protection systems for military vehicles by enabling more precise threat assessment and countermeasure deployment. Our results validate theoretical predictions that triangulation from multiple sensing positions provides more robust parameter estimation, particularly for projectiles with linear trajectories. The methods described can be implemented with existing FMCW radar technology and standard data fusion algorithms, making this approach practical for near-term deployment.