Abstract: The problem of feature-extraction and recognition of ballistic missile targets is studied.Based on the instantaneous polarization scattering matrix of radar targets, descriptions of its electromagnetic scattering characteristics are presented using the matrix theory.The first and second order polarization measures of radar targets are then derived with measured data of warhead targets, which are insensitive to the pose of radar targets.Classification and identification of missile targets are studied through nearest neighbor recognition methods.

Key words: instantaneous polarization, missile target, recognition