AbstractProbability theory is applied to the problem of radar target discrimination. The theory is used to construct an excitation waveform (an enhanced discrimination pulse) which maximizes the posterior odds in favor of one target over the other. It is shown that the enhanced discrimination pulse has its spectrum concentrated near the frequency where the difference in the impulse spectrum of the two targets reaches a maximum. Enhanced discrimination pulses are calculated using analytical models of thin cylindrical targets and experimental data collected from simplified aircraft models.©1993 John Wiley & Sons Inc