Bergano , José Miguel da SilvaSilva , José Silvestre Serra daBárbara, Nilton Jose´ Gomes Rainho2025-11-182025-11-182023-05-12http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/59860This master thesis investigates the suitability of the radar system located in Pampilhosa da Serra for integration into Ballistic Missile Defense Systems (BMDS). At the core of this study is an advanced simulation developed in MATLAB, meticulously designed to capture the intricacies of missile trajectories and the challenges in tracking them using radar systems. Through a series of simulated scenarios, the study explored the performance of the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) in tracking missiles. Key performance metrics, including the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and Normalized Estimation Error Squared (NEES), were used to assess the tracking accuracy. Notably, in optimized radar configurations, RMSE values dropped to as low as 41 meters, MAE reduced to 37 meters, and NEES significantly improved to around 1.5. These metrics underscore the profound impact of radar specifications on tracking precision and suggest the potential efficacy of the Pampilhosa da Serra radar system in BMDS applications when appropriately configured.engBallistic Missile Defense SystemsRadar SystemExtended Kalman FilterMATLAB SimulationTracking Ac curacyRMSEMAENEES.master thesis203574214