A radar system includes a controller equipped with memory for storing data. The controller is configured to receive a time-domain signal representative of a reflected signal detected by an antenna, and transform the time-domain signal into a plurality of range datasets. Each range dataset corresponds to one of the plurality of chirps, each range dataset is represented by a series of values assigned to a plurality of range bins, and each of the values includes a sign bit. The controller is also configured to compress the plurality of range datasets by storing in the memory a portion of each of the values assigned to at least one of the plurality of range bins, wherein the portion is defined to exclude a first number of redundant sign bits of each value. The controller may further compress the portion by retaining a second number of bits of the data by excluding some of the least significant bits of each value.