Multistatic radar as a means of dealing with the detection of multipath false targets by airport surface detection equipment radars

An evaluation of the applicability of multistatic radar concepts to the performance of airport surface detection equipment (ASDE) was performed via proof-of-concept (POC) experiments at Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) during spring 2002. Multistatic radar configurations offer an effective means of mitigating against the detection of multipath false targets that often affect the performance of ASDE radars, particularly through their impact on automated alerting systems designed to warn controllers of runway incursions during takeoff and landing procedures. This paper identifies key features of a multistatic radar system for this application and presents a number of experimental results obtained during the POC. In order to test the efficacy of the concept, a bistatic receiving and recording system (BRRS) was designed and built to receive and record bistatic scattered energy derived from transmissions emanating from the ASDE-3 K_u -band radar. This system and other supporting instrumentation used for the POC are also included. The results of the POC demonstrated that multistatic radar concepts applied to ASDE-type radars are realizable and are useful for mitigation against the detection of multipath false targets.