A re-look at antenna in-band RCSR via load mismatching

Renewed interest in mismatching an antenna, in order to realize greater than the typical 2-for-1 dB of RCS (radar cross section) versus gain reduction, motivates this paper. Atlantic Aerospace routinely employs this technique in antenna design optimization. The practical limitations of such are discussed. A >9:1 RCS:G ratio is shown for a dipole element. Yet, it is also shown that the absolute RCSR (RCS reduction) for this case is less than 2 dB. It is also pointed out that one cannot justifiably compute this trade based on starting at the perfectly matched condition, since this antenna is seldom realizable. The RCS:G ratio can be large; but, a minimum gain and limited VSWR will be required by the typical user and will limit the practical application of this RCSR technique.