At present, the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image classification method
based on convolution neural network (CNN) has faced some problems such as poor
noise resistance and generalization ability. Spiking neural network (SNN) is
one of the core components of brain-like intelligence and has good application
prospects. This article constructs a complete SAR image classifier based on
unsupervised and supervised learning of SNN by using spike sequences with
complex spatio-temporal information. We firstly expound the spiking neuron
model, the receptive field of SNN, and the construction of spike sequence. Then
we put forward an unsupervised learning algorithm based on STDP and a
supervised learning algorithm based on gradient descent. The average
classification accuracy of single layer and bilayer unsupervised learning SNN
in three categories images on MSTAR dataset is 80.8\% and 85.1\%, respectively.
Furthermore, the convergent output spike sequences of unsupervised learning can
be used as teaching signals. Based on the TensorFlow framework, a single layer
supervised learning SNN is built from the bottom, and the classification
accuracy reaches 90.05\%. By comparing noise resistance and model parameters
between SNNs and CNNs, the effectiveness and outstanding advantages of SNN are
verified. Code to reproduce our experiments is available at
\url{this https URL}.