US 2016/0178729 A1 · DETECTION OF STEALTH VEHICLES USING VHF RADAR

Abstract

A radar system for detecting stealth vehicles, e.g., stealth aircraft. Relatively long-wavelength very high frequency (VHF) or ultra high frequency (UHF) radar radiation is used to reduce the ability of the stealth vehicle to direct the reflected radar radiation away from the radar receiver. The radar is operated with two or more transmitting beams. The beams are separately modulated and misaligned relative to each other. When the stealth vehicle is nearer to a first beam than to a second beam of the transmitting beams, the vehicle reflects more of the first beam radar radiation, and more of the corresponding modulation, back toward the receiver. The receiver measures the magnitudes of the modulations in the reflected radar radiation and infers, from the difference between these magnitudes, the direction to the stealth vehicle.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A radar system for detecting an aircraft having a characteristic length, the system comprising:

a transmitter and a receiver,
the transmitter being configured to transmit:
a first radar beam having:
a first wavelength, longer than the characteristic length of the aircraft,
a first direction,
a first half-power beam width, and
a first modulation, and
a second radar beam having:
a second wavelength, longer than the characteristic length of the aircraft,
a second direction,
a second half-power beam width, and
a second modulation, and
the angle between the first direction and the second direction being more than 1% of the average of the first half-power beam width and the second half-power beam width, and the first modulation being different from the second modulation,
the receiver being configured to:
receive a radar signal resulting from reflections, from the aircraft, of the first radar beam and the second radar beam,
measure the magnitude of the first modulation in the received radar signal, and
measure the magnitude of the second modulation in the received radar signal.

14 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Detection of stealth vehicles using vhf radar

Life of this patent

Detection of stealth vehicles using vhf radar

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20