Recent Development in UAV-based Antenna Pattern Characterization for Weather Radars

The evaluation and testing of the radiation characteristics of antennas are performed in antenna ranges, and in this context, in-situ measurements provide a means to verify the performance of the antenna such that its intrinsic radiation patterns are not substantially modified by its operational environment. Conventional outdoor range facilities are limited by space and cost constraints, and it would be impractical to develop such facilities for a single radar, let alone a network with a large number of radars. Continuing advances and the availability of relatively inexpensive commercially-off-the-shelf unmanned aerial vehicle systems allow the development of in situ antenna measurement systems for a wide variety of operating frequencies. Such unmanned aerial vehicle-based antenna ranges are important for polarimetric radars, and in particular for polarimetric calibration since a complete control of the measuring instrument is possible. This paper presents an update of the current in-situ antenna characterization and calibration of a radar system using an unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the Advanced Radar Research Center at The University of Oklahoma.