Publications
On minimum detectable velocity
Bickel, Douglas L.; Doerry, Armin
In comparing system performance for ground moving target indicator (GMTI) radar systems, various metrics are used. It is highly desirable that the metric be simple and powerful. Ideally it is a single number, or a plot. It is often the case that a single number is not sufficient to describe the radar performance under all operational conditions. In spite of this, it is still common to attempt to use a simple metric, such as the minimum detectable velocity (MDV). This paper discusses the concept of minimum detectable velocity with the goal of showing what this metric attempts to communicate, and what may not be properly communicated by this metric without careful attention. Basic parameters that affect the minimum detectable velocity are presented.