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This paper introduces a parametric covariance estimation scheme for use with space-time adaptive processing (STAP) methods operating in heterogeneous clutter environments. The approach blends both a priori knowledge and data observations within a parameterized model to capture instantaneous characteristics of the cell under test (CUT) and reduce covariance errors leading to detection performance loss. We justify this method using both measured and synthetic data. Performance potential for the specific operating conditions examined herein include 1) averaged behavior within roughly 2 dB of the optimal filter, 2) 1 dB improvement in exceedance characteristic relative to the optimal filter, highlighting improved instantaneous capability, and 3) imperviousness to corruptive target-like signals in the secondary data (no additional signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) loss, compared with 10 dB or greater loss for the standard STAP implementation), with corresponding detections comparable to the optimal filter case.

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