A process for detecting the harmonic motion characterizing a desired target. An exemplary method includes generating a radar image of the target utilizing a pulse doppler radar. A plurality of matched filter signals are generated in the receiver, each matched filter signal corresponding to a doppler profile of harmonic acceleration for the desired target. The matched filter signals are generated by an array of matched filters, with each matched filter signal corresponding to a predetermined doppler profile. The received radar image is then correlated to the matched filter signals to detect the desired target.