Shipboard Radar Cross Section and Radio Frequency Performance Verification of Low Observable Airborne Platforms

Current and, more importantly due to increasing threat capabilities, future US Navy (USN) low-observable (LO) aircraft require operational repair and LO performance verification well beyond all other USN airborne assets. Maintaining high-fidelity LO characteristics is particularly challenging in operational environments and even with best maintenance-practices, insidious radar cross section (RCS) hotspots in the aircrafts radar signature can develop and compromise mission lethality as well as aircraft and warfighter survivability. Within this research program, the STAR Dynamics SARBAR handheld, X band, real-time, real-aperture LO imaging radar system design will be optimized and refined to produce ultra-wideband (UWB) high-resolution, two-dimensional (2D), spotlight-radar images on flight and hanger decks providing visualization and recording of 2D images, for unprecedented operational, at-sea LO-verification and survivability assurance. Similarly, surface-to-air LO-verification technologies will be evaluated and design-enhanced for operational implementation, based on STARs existing, demonstrated, and validated, Ground-To-Air RCS System (GTARS) radar tracking/imaging technology that measures radar LO signatures of aircraft in dynamic, operational airborne environments, generating calibrated radar images to provide maintainers with otherwise unavailable LO-verification data. Lastly, this research effort will provide a baseline design configuration for a compact, affordable UWB airborne LO-verification radar capable of critical, real-time, in-flight GO/NO-GO LO verification of LO aircraft.