While in the Navy, I work on radar systems. Thus, I will be talking about pulse integration and fluctuation loss in a radar which is in a way a part of what my job/career is thus far. Typically, you need more than a single pulse to meet the required performance for a pulsed radar. Thus, we use pulse integration to improve SNR or (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) to average out any interferences. The following list is used to process multiple high-velocity tracks over several resolution cells during the integration time. Or simply put multiple incoming potentially hostile targets at a very high speed over a large area.
The result of loss is the difference in the Signal-to-Noise required over a set area M-of-N Integration and when Signal-to-noise is required for all CPI (Coherent Processing Interval) within that area.
I never personally use calculation since the computer does most of this on the fly and even gives us updates on when this is occurring. That way, as an operator and technician, I can focus on threats, take a clean picture, and keep the status of my gear up to date with what fixes are required.
References:
Mathworks. 1994-2022. The Mathworks, Ink.
https://www.mathworks.com/help/radar/ug/introduction-to-integration-and-fluctuation-losses-in-radar.html
