The case for bistatic HF surface wave radar

This paper examines some of the issues associated with implementation of HF surface wave radars (HFSWR) in bistatic and monostatic configurations. Most HFSWRs deployed in the field are pseudo-monostatic although they may not be optimum for all deployments. Radar transmitter spectral characteristics, detection performance based on received signal strength and site selection criteria are considered in this paper for both HFSWR configurations. These are compared to determine if a bistatic HFSWR might be the better option.