Modeling of the Attenuation Effects of the Ionosphere and Troposphere for Radio Frequency Application

Current environment models employed in MDA simulations are not configured to thoroughly evaluate the effects of the environment on radar performance. Also the current models are not coordinated to present a globally consistent environment picture and can be based on functions that have not been updated to take advantage of the environment models and databases that have become freely available in the information age. We propose environment model updates to mitigate these performance limitations. Radar atmospheric effects models whose behavior is derived from globally consistent environment models can produce radar sensor effects that represent a higher fidelity instantiation of the environment affecting the entire missile defense system. We propose developing a system of radar environment effects modules that derive their behavior from global environment models such as the Standardized Atmosphere Generator (SAG), the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI), and the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF). For ionospheric radar effects we will address scintillation, range delay, auroral clutter, and Faraday rotation/absorption. Current scintillation models rely on conventional solar and geomagnetic observables such as sunspot number and planetary K index, Kp. We plan to use results from our analysis of an extensive set of UEWR Thule data to improve the modeled correlation of Approved for Public Release | 16-MDA-8917 (15 November 16)