Robust and fast algorithm for estimating fundamental periodicity of jet engine modulation signals

Jet engine modulation (JEM), a modulation phenomenon induced by a rotating jet engine compressor, is a representative feature extracted from the radar for aircraft target recognition. In this study, the authors present a robust and fast algorithm for extracting the spool rate, which imparts fundamental periodicity to JEM signals. First, a wavelet decomposition with Meyer wavelet was applied to the analytic form of the JEM signal. Then, the decomposition components were combined to achieve a sufficient energy and minimise the mean of the JEM auto‐correlation. Finally, the peak detection algorithm was employed for automatic estimation of the spool rate. Application results of measured JEM signals demonstrated that the proposed algorithm is effective for stable and accurate extraction of the jet engine information.