An analysis tool for active antenna radar performance

With active antenna technology the assessment of the performance of a radar instrument becomes an intricate problem due to the multiplicity of Transmit and Receive (Tx/Rx) channels (up to several thousands). This paper describes a software able to simulate such an instrument. For the active antenna subsystem a proper level of modelling has been developed taking into account characteristics and manufacturing dispersions of individual components within a full scale distribution network architecture. This tool allows an accurate computation of the amplitude and phase distortions withstood by the input signal along all various Tx/Rx paths. Finally the global performance of the instrument is expressed in terms of impulse response function and radiation pattern.