TABLE OF CONTENTS Eugene F.Knott
This book is an introduction to the rather broad field of the echo characteristics of radar targets. It is intended to acquaint engineers, scientists, and program managers with what may be a new and unfamiliar discipline, even though a great body of knowledge has existed since the widespread use of radar in World War II. Modern weapons systems often carry RCS performance specifications in addition to other, more conventional requirements, such as speed, weight, and payload. Integrating these specifications into a new or existing system requires that engineers of several disciplines interact with each other. Our intention is to improve that interaction by showing why certain electromagnetic design procedures or features are important in the overall system design.
An integrated design approach is obviously a vital one, especially for complex systems or weapons. Aircraft designers and manufacturers have used it for decades, relying on the interaction between specialists to reconcile differences in individual approaches to mission objectives. Experts in propulsion, aerodynamics, structures, and avionics are only a few examples of the specialists called on to participate in the overall design effort. For many years, however, smaller, less astute airframe manufacturers included the RCS specialist only in the final stages of design, not in the early stages of concept definition. This specialist s role was confined essentially to the application of electromagnetic band-aids to the prototype airframe.
The result was that although a new missile or aircraft might have the required range, speed, and payload, its radar echo...
