(RAT SCAT) LARGE OBJECT STUDY
Abstract
The investigation reported herein has been directed to defining an optimum means of implementing a capability for measurement of large-object radar cross section at the Radar Target Scattering Site, White Sands Missile Range. The required capability is that of accommodating targets up to 60 feet in length, over a frequency range of 0.03 to 12 gigahertz, and maintaining the present RAT SCAT measurement accuracy. The primary trade-off feature in this study was the requirement for range length, which exceeded 16 miles in the case of the most straight-forward approach to large-object measurement. This condition is commonly defined by R less than 20 sq/wavelength when D is the minimum target dimension. Four basic measurement methods were analyzed in this investigation: (1) scaling, wherein the target size and range length are reduced via the well-known scaling laws; (2) long range and high power, wherein a range length of 20 sq/wavelength is used; (3) antenna far field simulation, wherein a dielectric lens is used to partially correct the phase of the incident illuminating field; and (4) analytical correction of near field data, wherein data obtained at R greater than 20 sq/wavelength is analytically processed to obtain data equivalent to that at R = 20 sq/wavelength. The study conclusions are based on extensive theoretical investigation and experimental testing. Over 200,000 IBM 7090 computations and 250 experiments were performed. A trade-off study was conducted in order to uniformly evaluate the impact of the selection of the several methods. The final selection represents a combination of the long-range, and high-power, and antenna far-field simulation methods.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0822284
Entities
People
- Charles C. Freeny
- William P. Cahill
Organizations
- General Dynamics