Multistatic radar

A multistatic radar system contains multiple spatially diverse monostatic radar or bistatic radar components with a shared area of coverage. An important distinction of systems based on these individual radar geometries is the added requirement for some level of data fusion to take place between component parts. The spatial diversity afforded by multistatic systems allows for different aspects of a target to be viewed simultaneously. The potential for information gain can give rise to a number of advantages over conventional systems.

Multistatic radar is often referred to as ‘multisite’ or ‘netted’ radar, and is comparable with the idea of macrodiversity in communications. A further subset of multistatic radar with roots in communications is that of MIMO radar.

Since multistatic radar may contain both monostatic and bistatic components, the advantages and disadvantages of each radar arrangement will also apply to multistatic systems. A system with ${\displaystyle N}$ transmitters and ${\displaystyle M}$ receivers will contain ${\displaystyle NM}$ of these component pairs, each of which may involve a differing bistatic angle and target radar cross section. The following characteristics are unique to the multistatic arrangement, where multiple transmitter-receiver pairs are present:

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