Development of low RCS reflector antenna systems

Reflector antenna systems for ground based and line of sight communication systems play a vital role in the transfer of information for both military and civilian communication purposes. Previously, these reflector antenna systems have been designed predominantly on the antenna´s transmitting and receiving characteristics. Such parameters typically include: main beam width, side lobe levels, and cross polarization levels. It is only recently that the vulnerability to detection, i.e. the radar cross section (RCS) of these antenna systems, has been of concern. Studies on the scattering characteristics of such reflector antennas have revealed that the RCS characteristics of these antennas consist of three coupled phenomenon, each of which contributes to different aspects of the antenna´s overall RCS. The phenomenon of most concern (though not necessarily the largest) is the direct reflection from the reflector surface itself. This paper presents a formal mathematical procedure for the synthesis of a new reflector surface which nearly preserves the original reflector antenna pattern while removing the possibility of direct radar reflection from the reflector surface in the regions of space where low RCS is required.