PROJECT TITLE :

Scaled Bistatic Radar Cross Section Measurements of Aircraft With a Fiber-Coupled THz Time-Domain Spectrometer

ABSTRACT:

The data of the radar cross section (RCS) of aircraft and alternative objects is of nice interest each for civil and military applications. Scaled setups are usually utilized in order to facilitate RCS measurements during a well-outlined laboratory surroundings. As radar frequencies steadily increase, for top scaling factors these measurements must be distributed within the THz regime. In this paper, we have a tendency to propose an experimental setup consisting of a fiber- coupled THz time-domain spectrometer integrated with a 2 circle goniometer, that enables bistatic scaled RCS measurements. To assess the accuracy of the setup, measurements on reference objects in addition to on scale model aircraft are performed. The measured information of the reference objects is compared to the theoretical predictions. As for the aircraft, the comparison between a Panavia two hundred Tornado and a Lockheed F117 Nighthawk is made and therefore the influence of individual elements like bombs on the RCS is evaluated.