Radar Target Modeling Using In-Flight Radar Cross-Section Measurements

A flight experiment with the Saab 105 aircraft and the radar cross-section measurement system Arken has been performed at C and Ku bands. Two types of trajectories were flown, and the flight state was recorded using inertial and satellite navigation equipment. The data were used to recreate the flight in a simulator where the aspect angles and range to the measurement system could be calculated. The measured radar cross section as a function of time was presented and compared to various statistical fluctuation models, including the distributions used in Swerling cases. Findings showed that the generalized Pareto distribution fit the measured data best and that Swerling case 2 was a good candidate for describing the dynamics of the radar cross section at the Ku band when the aircraft approached the radar head-on. The measured radar cross-section data were analyzed using the fast Fourier transform, from which fluctuation rates for different carrier frequencies and trajectories could be estimated.