Bistatic RCS tools for the assessment of multi-static radar

In order to develop a potential multi-static radar solution it is necessary first to understand the bistatic RCS characteristics of the expected targets. The target bistatic RCS characteristics not only aid determination of the position and density of the radar receive elements but also will determine the sensor capability required at each position. Bistatic RCS data is notoriously difficult to represent in a useful format due to the volume of data and the interdependencies of receive and transmit element positions. In order to understand this data, a tool set has been developed that allows the bistatic RCS data to be imaged in many different ways so that the most effective methods for presentation can be identified for both 3D and 2D media representations. Example representations are given. An additional tool has been created to assess the temporal distribution of the reflected energy from a moving target across a defined surface area. This tool assists in identifying those areas that will benefit from increased energy over a significant amount of time. The placement of sensors on this tool then allows for the assessment of multi-static radar. As an example, the energy distributed from a basic geometric shape along a linear trajectory is demonstrated.