Radar cross section measurements using target striping

A technique has been developed that allows imaging of ships at high resolution with low pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) using stepped frequency radar systems. The two parameters of PRF and resolution are typically conflicting, allowing either high resolution at high PRFs or low resolution at low PRFs. This technique is called target striping because it measures the target in sections or stripes. This technique is most useful when imaging targets at great distances. At great distances, the PRF has to be very low so that only one pulse is in the air at a time. At low PRFs the target moves too much during bursts to support high resolution imaging. Using multiple range gates (multiple timed samples of the return pulse) with short pulse widths provides a mechanism to measure sections of the target that can later be pieced together during data processing. The author describes the technique used to measure and process data in target striping mode. Examples of actual data are provided