Abstract :
GTRI conducted a study for the US Army Missile Command to determine suitable radar ranges at which full polarization scattering matrix (PSM) Ka-band measurements of tactical ballistic missiles (TBM) could be conducted. The study determined that McDonnell Douglas Technology Inc., (MDTI) operates the only commercially available Ka-band-capable facility which is fully polarimetric on a pulse-to-pulse basis and employs polarization distortion matrix (PDM) calibration routines in their data processing. Measurements were made to assess performance of an MDTI Ka-band radar and compact range. Radar performance was assessed by a variety of measurements, including measurements to characterize the Ka-band RF head and measurements of simple targets, support structures, and the background to assess the signal-to-background, coherent processing, polarization isolation, and resolution characteristics of the radar
