THE RADAR EQUATION

Arimulh onqle -degrees

Figure 2.17 Comparison of the theoretical and model-measurement horizontal-polarization radar cross
sections of (he B-47 medium bomber jet aircraft with a wing span of 35 m and a length of 33 m. Solid curve
is t h e average of the computed cross sections obtained by the University of Michigan Engineering
Research Institute at a frequency of 980 MHz. Dashed curves are model measurements obtained by the
Ohio Stale Univcrsily Antenna Laboratory at a frequency of 600 MHz. Open circles are the maximum
values averaged over Hr intervals; solid circles are median values. Radar is assumed to be in the same
plane as the aircraft.A*

11 can be seen that the radar cross section of an aircraft is difficult to specify concisely.
Slight changes in viewing aspect or frequency result in large fluctuations in cross section.
Nevertheless, a single value of ctoss section is sometimes given for specific aircraft targets for
use in computing the radar equation. There is no standard, agreed-upon method for specifying
the single-valued cross section of an aircraft. The average value or the median might be taken.
Sometimes it is a " minimum " value, perhaps the value exceeded 99 percent of the lime or 95
percent of (he time. It might also be the value which when substituted into the radar equation
assures that the computed range agrees with the experimentally measured range.
Table 2.2 lists "example" values of cross section for various targets at microwave
frequencies. Note that only a single value is given even though there can be a large variation.
They should not be used for design purposes when actual data is available for the particular
targets of interest.
A military propeller aircraft such as the AD-4B has a cross section of about 20 m2 at L
band, but a 100 m2 cross section at VHF. The longer wavelengths at VHF result in greater
 TR0DUCT10N TO RADAR SYSTEMS

35dB

Figure 2.16 Experimental cross section of the B-26 two-engine bomber at \O-cro wavelength as a (unction *
of azimuth angle. (From Ridenour, 1' courtesy McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.)

account of aspect changes and shadowing of one component by another) is computed and the
component cross sections are combined to yield the composite value. The " theoretical" values of
Fig. 2.17 for B-47 were obtained by calculation.
The most realistic method for obtaining the radar cross section of aircraft is to measure the
actual target in flight. There is no question about the authenticity of the target being measured.
An example of such a facility is the dynamic radar cross-section range of the U.S. Naval
Research Laboratory. 30 Radars at L, S, C and X bands illuminate the aircraft target in flight. The
radar track data is used to establish the aspect angle of the target with respect to the radar.
Pulse-to-pulse radar cross section is available, but for convenience in presenting the data the
values plotted usually are an average of a large number of values taken within a 10 by 10° aspect
angle interval. Examples of such data are given in Figs. 2.18 to 2.20. The radar cross section of the
T-38 aircraft at head-on incidence is shown in Table 2.1. This data was also obtained from an
aircraft in flight. (The T-38 is a twin-jet trainer with a 7.7 m wing span and a 14 m length.)