Based on the fundamental scattering mechanisms of facetized computer-aided design (CAD) models, we are able to define expected contributions (EC) to the radar signature. The net result of this analysis is the prediction of the salient aspects and contributing vehicle morphology based on the aspect. Although this approach does not provide the fidelity of an asymptotic electromagnetic (EM) simulation, it does provide very fast estimates of the unique scattering that can be consumed by a signature exploitation algorithm. The speed of this approach is particularly relevant when considering the high dimensionality of target configuration variability due to articulating parts which are computationally burdensome to predict. The key scattering phenomena considered in this work are the specular response from a single bounce interaction with surfaces and dihedral response formed between the ground plane and vehicle. Results of this analysis are demonstrated for a set of civilian target models.

Date Published: 13 June 2014
PDF: 15 pages
Proc. SPIE 9093, Algorithms for Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery XXI, 90930D (13 June 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2058254

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9093:
Algorithms for Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery XXI
Edmund Zelnio; Frederick D. Garber, Editor(s)