Comparison of RCS prediction techniques, computations and measurements

The National Aerospace Laboratory NLR and the TNO Physics and Electronics Laboratory have started a research project to acquire capabilities to predict the radar signature of aircraft, since the requirement of low radar cross section (RCS) has become a critical driver in the design of military aircraft. The research concerns the development of RCS prediction techniques as well as the assessment of the capabilities of these techniques. The authors evaluate the capabilities of three prediction techniques by calculating the monostatic RCS of the geometry given. This geometry can be considered as a generic model of a wing with an engine inlet of a fighter aircraft. The evaluation includes a discussion of practical and numerical aspects. The following prediction techniques are applied: a 3D high frequency method, a 3D boundary element method and a 2D finite difference time domain method