EEE381B

Aerospace Systems
& Avionics
Radar
Part 1 – Basic radar theory
Ref: Moir & Seabridge 2006, Chapter 3

Dr Ron Smith
Outline
1. Principles of radar
2. Radar antenna
3. Radar modes
4. Pulsed radar
5. Doppler radar
6. FM-CW radar
7. Exercises

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1. Principles of radar [4]

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1.1 A radar operator view [4]

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1.2 Brief history of radar

 Conceived as early as 1880 by Heinrich Hertz

 Observed that radio waves could be reflected off metal
objects.
 Radio Aid to Detection And Ranging
 1930s
 Britain built the first ground-based early warning system
called Chain Home.
 1940
 Invention of the magnetron permits high power transmission
at high frequency, thus making airborne radar possible.

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1.2.1 Brief history of radar

 Currently
 Radar is the primary sensor on nearly all
military aircraft.
 Roles include airborne early warning, target
acquisition, target tracking, target illumination,
ground mapping, collision avoidance,
altimeter, weather warning.
 Practical frequency range 100MHz-100GHz.

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1.3 Airborne radar bands [1]

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1.3.1 Airborne radar bands [1]

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1.3.2 Airborne radar bands [1]

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1.4 Basic principle of radar[1]

 target range, R = ct / 2

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1.4.1 Basic principle of radar[1]

 Two common transmission techniques:

 pulses
 continuous wave

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2. Radar antenna
 A basic principle of radar is that it directs
energy (in the form of an EM wave) at its
intended target(s).
 Recall that the directivity of an antenna is
measured as a function of its gain.
 Therefore antenna types most useful for
radar applications include parabolic and
array antenna.

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2.1 Parabolic (dish) antenna

 Early airborne radars typically

consisted of parabolic
reflectors with horn feeds.
 The dish effectively directs the
transmitted energy towards a
target while at the same time
“gathering and concentrating”
some fraction of the returned
energy.

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2.2 Planar (phased) array antenna

 Recent radars more likely

employ a planar array
 It is electronically steerable as
a transmit or receive antenna
using phase shifters.
 It has the further advantage of
being capable of being
integrated with the skin of the
aircraft (“smart skin”).

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2.3 Radar antenna beam patterns

 The main lobe of the radar antenna beam is

central to the performance of the system.
 The side lobes are not only wasteful, they provide
electronic warfare vulnerabilities.

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3. Airborne radar modes
 Airborne radars are designed for and used in
many different modes. Common modes include:
 air-to-air search
 air-to-air tracking
 air-to-air track-while-scan (TWS)
 ground mapping
 continuous wave (CW) illumination
 multimode

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3.1 Air-to-air search [1]

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3.2 Air-to-air tracking [1]

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3.3 Air-to-air track-while-scan [1]

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3.4 Ground mapping [1]

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3.5 Continuous wave illumination

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3.6 Multimode [1]

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4. Pulsed radar
 A pulsed radar is characterized by a high power
transmitter that generates an endless sequence
of pulses. The rate at which the pulses are
repeated is defined as the pulse repetition
frequency.
 Denote:
 pulse width, , usually expressed in sec
 pulse repetition frequency, PRF, usually in kHz
 pulse period, Tp = 1/PRF, usually in sec

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4.1 Pulsed radar architecture [1]

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4.1.1 A lab-based pulsed radar [4]

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4.2 Pulsed modulation [1]

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4.2.1 Pulsed radar bandwidth

 In the frequency domain, the transmitted and

received signals are composed of spectral
components centered on the radar operating
frequency, f0, with a sin(x)/x shape.
 The practical limits of the frequency response is
f0  1/,
 and therefore the bandwidth of the receiver must
be at least:
BWRx ≥ 2/

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4.2.2 Pulsed radar average power

 Since a pulsed radar only transmits for a small

portion of the time, the average power of the radar
is quite low:
Pav = Ppeak  / Tp

 For example a pulsed radar with a 1 sec pulse width and

a medium PRF of 4 kHz that transmits at a peak power of
10kW transmits an average power of:
Pav = (10000 W) (0.000001 sec) (4000 /sec)
= _____ W = _____ dBW

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4.3 Pulsed radar range resolution

 The range resolution of a radar is its ability to

distinguish two closely spaced targets along the
same line of sight (LOS). The range resolution
is a function of the pulse length, where pulse
length, Lp = c.
 For example, a 1 sec pulse width yields a pulse
length of 0.3 km.
 Two targets can be resolved in range if:
Lp < 2(R2 – R1)

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4.3.1 Pulsed radar range resolution [4]

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4.3.2 Pulsed radar range resolution [4]

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4.4 Pulsed radar range ambiguity

 The PRF is another key radar parameter and is

arguably one of the most difficult design
decisions.
 The range of a target becomes ambiguous as a
function of half the pulse period; in other words
targets that are further than half the pulse period
yield ambiguous range results.
 Ramb = c / (2 PRF) = cTp / 2

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4.4 Pulsed radar range ambiguity [1]

This figure is very confusing.

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4.4.1 Range ambiguity

Ramb

return time

PRF

 A target whose range is:

R < Ramb = c / (2 PRF) = cTp / 2
0 10 20 30

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4.4.2 Range ambiguity

Ramb

return time

PRF

 A target whose range is :

R > Ramb = c / (2 PRF) = cTp / 2
0 10 20 30

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4.4.3 Range ambiguity

Ramb

PRF

 Which target is which? ?

0 10 20 30

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4.5 Angle resolution[4]

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5. Target tracking
 A target that is tracked is said to be “locked on”; key
data to maintain on locked targets is:
 range,
 azimuth and elevation angle.
 A frame of reference using pitch and roll from
aircraft attitude indicators is required for angle
tracking. Three angle tracking techniques are:
 sequential lobing
 conical scan
 monopulse

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5.1 Range tracking - range gating [1]

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5.2 Angle tracking – sequential lobing1

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5.3 Angle tracking – sequential lobing1

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5.4 Angle tracking – conical scan[1]

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5.5 Angle tracking – monopulse[1]

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5.6 Angle tracking – monopulse[1]

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6. In-class exercises

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6. 6.1 Quick response exercise # 1

 Explain the strange shapes on top of these

two aircraft,
 E3 Sentry and AH-64 Longbow Apache [1]

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6.2 Quick response exercise # 2

 Given a 10.5 GHz intercept radar and a

transmitter capable of providing a peak power
of 44 dBW at a PRF of 2 kHz:
 What pulse width yields an average power of 50W?
 What is the bandwidth in MHz and in % of this
signal?

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6.3 Pulsed radar calculations

 Design the pulse parameters so as to achieve maximum

average power for an unspecified Ku band pulsed radar
given the following component specifications and system
requirements:
 the receiver has a bandwidth of at least 0.5% across the band
 the required range resolution is 50m
 The required range ambiguity is 25 km
 For cooling purposes, ensure that the duty cycle of the
transmitter does not exceed 0.2%

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References
1) Moir & Seabridge, Military Avionics Systems, American Institute of
Aeronautics & Astronautics, 2006. [Sections 2.6 & 2.7]
2) David Adamy, EW101 - A First Course in Electronic Warfare, Artech
House, 2000. [Chapters 3,4 & 6]
3) George W. Stimson, Introduction to Airborne Radar, Second Edition,
SciTch Publishing, 1998.
4) Principles of Radar Systems, student laboratory manual, 38542-00, Lab-
Volt (Quebec) Ltd, 2006.
5) Mark A. Hicks, "Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on
[Link]"

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