Weak maneuvering target detection in random pulse repetition interval radar

•For the maneuvering target detection, the proposed method can remove range migration (RM) and Doppler frequency migration (DFM) in both fixed and random pulse repetition interval (PRI) radar systems.•The proposed method has a high search efficiency thanks to the adoption of sparse Fourier transform (SFT).•As a linear algorithm, the proposed method has a good performance in the scenario of multiple weak targets detection.