Patent ID: 7417578

Claim:
A weather radar system for detecting a weather system and a spurious aircraft and for removing the spurious aircraft from a weather radar display said weather radar system comprising: a transmitter for transmitting pulses; a receiver for receiving return pulses from the weather system and from the spurious aircraft; a processor connected to the transmitter and receiver and for generating the pulses, for processing the return pulses from the weather system and from the spurious aircraft, and for determining a presence of the spurious aircraft; and the weather radar display connected to the processor and to display the weather system with the spurious aircraft removed by the processor; wherein said weather radar system detects said spurious aircraft by using at least one of differentiating radar return length, estimating a vertical gradient of reflectivity, tracking radar returns into regions eliminated from the weather display, tracking radar returns that allow detection and removal of the spurious aircraft in certain relative geometries, differentiating Doppler velocity, and differentiating spectral width.