Systems and methods are provided for morphological components analysis (MCA) techniques for efficient maritime target detection. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems, methods, and devices for determining the free parameter λ for MCA analysis. Embodiments of the present disclosure using MCA utilize effective pre-processing step(s) that separate target signals from clutter, thereby improving the overall performance of subsequent target detection processing. Systems and methods in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure can optimize the value of the parameter λ, significantly affecting MCA performance.