Efficient 3-D Passive Source Localization Using AOA and TDOA Measurements in Passive Radar

Abstract

In two-station 3-D passive source localization, combined angle of arrival (AOA) and time difference of arrival (TDOA) methods often exhibit performance degradation at low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). To address this issue, this letter first derives an error propagation model and demonstrates the limitations of the conventional algorithm. Based on this basis, we develop a two-station constrained weighted total least squares (CWTLS) estimator that accurately accounts for noise in both the measurement and the coefficient matrix. Simulations and field experiments show that, compared to the traditional weighted least squares (WLS) algorithm, the proposed method reduces bias by 75% under low SNR and achieves localization accuracy that is closer to the Cramér–Rao bound (CRB) across different geometric configurations.