Real-time radar cross section of complex targets by physical optics graphical processing

It is shown that the radar cross section (RCS) of complex targets can be obtained in real time using the hardware capabilities of a high-performance graphics workstation. Target geometry is modeled by a computer-aided-design package. The RCS is computed using the physical-optics high-frequency approximation. In order to validate the graphic processing of the surface integral, the results obtained for simple objects are compared with analytic evaluation of the physical-optics integral. A generic missile model is used to validate the physical-optics results for complex radar targets at high frequency. It is found that the RCS of complex targets at high frequency is predicted with reasonable accuracy by the physical-optics approximation.<>