RADAR RESPONSE OF LONG WIRES
Abstract
Scatter field and radar response of an infinitely long straight metallic wire are derived assuming that the wire is illuminated by an antenna radiating a Gaussian beam of narrow beam width. The scatter field has essentially the same distribution in any plane through the wire axis; it varies from plane to plane by only an amplitude factor. The radar response is at a maximum for vertical incidence - when the beam axis intersects the wire axis at right angles - and decreases exponentially with increasing inclination of the beam axis against this direction. No side lobes are obtained for Gaussian illumination, at least not in the interesting range of small angular deviations from vertical incidence where the radar response has appreciable values. Two cases can be distinguished: (1) the wire crosses the Fresnel region of the antenna and (2) the wire is situated in the antenna far zone. In the former case, the theory is limited to wire radii not exceeding the beam radius at the antenna; in the latter case, arbitrary wire radii are admissible. If the wire is located in the far field region of the antenna, the expression derived for the radar response can be generalized so that it applies to any antenna characteristic. The generalized expression shows that a radar cross section can be assigned to the wire even though it has been assumed to be infinitely long; this radar cross section increases linearly with distance between antenna and wire.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0704954
Entities
People
- F. Schwering
Organizations
- United States Army Communications-Electronics Command