Unit 8

Radar Targets

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 Contents

• Radar Cross Section of Targets

• RCS of Sphere
• RCS of Cone-sphere
• RCS of Long Wire/Rod
 Propagation Effects
• Propagation effects can increase as well as decrease the free-space range.

• The major effects of propagation on radar performance are:

– Reflections from the earth’s surface, which cause the breakup of the antenna
elevation pattern into lobes

– Refraction or bending of the propagation wave by the variation of the

atmosphere’s refraction index as a function of altitude, which usually increases
the radar’s range.

– Propagation in atmospheric ducts, which can significantly increase the range at

low altitudes

– Attenuation in clear atmosphere or in precipitation, which usually negligible at

most radar frequencies

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 Radar Cross Section of Targets
• RCS, σ is the property of a scattering object, or
target which represents the magnitude of the
echo signal returned to the radar by the target.

𝑅𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑟

𝑃𝑡 𝐺 𝜎
= .
4𝜋𝑅 4𝜋𝑅2
2

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 Scattering Region : Rayleigh
• RCS depends on the characteristic dimensions of the object compared to
the radar wavelength.
• Rayleigh Region (D < λ i.e. D/ λ <1)
– Object’s dimension is smaller than the wavelength.

– RCS α f4 ( RCS proportional to the fourth

power of frequency)

– Determined more by the volume than

the object’s shape

– Echo from rain is usually

described by the Rayleigh scattering

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 Scattering Region : Optical
• Optical Region (D > λ i.e. D/ λ > 1)
– Object’s dimension is larger than the wavelength

– Determined more by the object’s shape than the projected

area

– Echo from airplanes, ships is usually described by the

optical scattering

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 Scattering Region : Resonance
• Resonance Region (D ~ λ i.e. D/ λ ~ 1)
– Object’s dimension is comparable to the wavelength

– Lies between the Rayleigh and optical regions

– RCS of most objects appears larger in the resonance region

than the other two regions

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 RCS of Sphere (1)
• Simplest object → same shape no matter
what the aspect

• The object’s dimension 𝐷 = 2𝜋𝑎

(circumference) where ‘a’ is the radius.

2𝜋𝑎
• RCS is calculated as function of
𝜆

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 RCS of Sphere (2)
• RCS is normalized with
the projected area, 𝜋𝑎2

2𝜋𝑎
• Rayleigh Region ( ≪
𝜆
1):
– RCS increases as f4
– Frequency increases, λ
decreases, and RCS
increases exponentially

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 RCS of Sphere (3)
2𝜋𝑎
• Optical Region ( ≫
𝜆
1):
– RCS approaches physical
area of sphere
– This happens only for
sphere.

– The illumination is from

the tip rather than from the
entire hemisphere

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 RCS
2𝜋𝑎
of Sphere (3)
• Resonance Region ( = 1):
𝜆
– RCS oscillates as a function of
frequency

– Two waves interfere constructively

and destructively
• 1st : direct reflection
• 2nd : creeping wave that travels
around the back of the sphere and
returns to the radar where it interacts
with the reflected wave

– The longer the electrical path

around the sphere, greater the loss,
smaller the magnitude of frequency
fluctuation
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 RCS of Cone Sphere (1)
• Cone whose base is shaped
as a sphere

• Echoes come from

– The tip of the cone

– The join between the cone

and the sphere

– The creeping wave that

travels around the sphere

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 RCS of Cone Sphere (2)
• In practice, tip ≠ 0 radius, its
more rounded

• With small λ, the surface

roughness will be significant
portion of wavelength.

• Therefore with increasing

frequency, the RCS will level-
off rather than decrease

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 RCS of Cone Sphere (3)
• The cross section of the
cone-sphere can be very low
from nose-on to near normal
incidence on the side of the
cone.

• From the rear, the cross-

section is that of a sphere,
hence it is much larger than
the cross-section viewed
from the front
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 RCS of Long Wire/ Rod
• When viewed broadside (θ=900), the RCS is large.

• As the viewing angle θ departs from 900, the RCS decreases.

• An angle is reached where the backscatter levels off and then increases again.

• This is due to a surface travelling wave.

• The incident EM wave couples onto the wire which then travels the length of the
wire and reflects from the discontinuity at the far end.

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