Radome degradation of radar adaptive array performance

An approach for predicting the impact of a radome on the adaptive performance of a modern phased array radar antenna is presented, based on a numerical model in which an antenna (with and without radome) is illuminated by a variable number of jammer sources. The antenna feeds a Wiener filter adaptive processor and the impact of the radome is assessed in terms of received power and also covariance matrix eigenvalue distribution. The with-radome case is treated via physical optics equivalent currents. It is shown that a radome can reduce adaptive performance, an observation which is explainable in terms of flashlobes.