Software Tool for Statistical Radar Signature Description of Small Sea Targets

The radar signatures from maritime targets in the presence of sea waves interacting with other objects are in general affected by a variety of physics-based electromagnetic features. In addition to the specular reflection from the incident and reflected waves (reflection from the large sea state surface), the electromagnetic scattering will include creeping waves, traveling waves, edge diffraction, multi-body interaction, singular field regions from sharp edges, cracks and gaps, resonance from any cavities or internal regions in the sea target, dielectric composition of the hull, transmission of the waves through the salt water, and propagation of EM waves through moisture layers in the vicinity of sea surface. The objective of this SBIR Phase II effort (N171-025) for NAVAIR is to build on the strengths of HyPerComp’s Phase I study (N68335-17-C-0438) and develop a comprehensive user-friendly computational environment to accurately model the electromagnetic environment of sea clutter with focus on understanding the role of multipath on RCS fluctuations as a function of grazing angle, polarization, sea state, range resolution and target configuration. It is also important to include the sea electrical properties as a function of frequency to properly account for multipath effects.