0 T. Bucciarelli Saverio Cacopardi F. Caltagirone R. Bordi G. Picardi 1982 Alta Frequenza 51 5 257-262 09/1982 A sensitive time control (STC) is a circuit which allows the processing of a clutter return in a way roughly independent from the range at which the clutter is generated. In this paper the feasibility of a Constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR) is analyzed in a non stationary clutter environment, range programming the number of taps in a conventional autogate. The special constraints of a shipborne radar have been considered, pointing out the differences of such processors from the previously considered programmable autogates. Indeed in sea clutter environment the law of the decrease of clutter power changes with direction, thus suggesting the implementation of a circuit able to match this law adaptively (ASTC = Adaptive STC). A CCD implementation is described, whose performance is similar to those already obtained resulting however smaller, cheaper, easier to set up and less dissipative.