Testing of MMW radar performance in adverse weather conditions and clutter backgrounds

The US Army´s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center is constructing a Precision Armaments Laboratory (PAL) at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, USA, specifically dedicated to the testing of sensors under adverse weather conditions. The laboratory consists of a base building and a 61 m tower with two external elevators capable of serving as test beds for the radars, electro-optic, or other sensors under test and associated instrumentation. The tower will overlook three instrumented target site areas as well as a mid-range meteorological instrumentation site. The Georgia Institute of Technology has been assisting Picatinny Arsenal with the development of the instrumentation of the laboratory, and the planning and conduct of the testing. This paper examines the fully automated instrumentation being installed in the Army´s PAL that is necessary to accurately determine and characterize meteorological conditions, measure the propagation path attenuation, perform the required measurements, and characterize the clutter background and target effects.