Radar parameters influence on the clutter in maritime forward scatter radar

The development of Forward Scatter Radar (FSR) for use in maritime applications requires a fundamental understanding of the operating environment. Presently, there is insufficiency of published experimental FSR sea clutter data at near zero grazing angle over the sea. Such data is fundamental for the development of FSR systems for maritime applications. Therefore clutter experiments have been undertaken and data has been recorded at frequencies of 7.5 GHz and 24 GHz with static, medium gain antennas for low sea state 1-3 on the Douglas scale. Analysis of forward scatter propagation phenomena is presented, and spectral and statistical analysis of forward scatter clutter is performed.