High range resolution X-band urban radar clutter model for a DRFM-based hardware in the loop radar environment simulator

Abstract

This paper describes measurements of urban ground clutter made from the CSIR campus in Pretoria, South-Africa. The measurements were made using a wideband X-band radar. The radar clutter is analysed and a Doppler spectrum based clutter model is derived. The clutter model is optimised for implementation on a digital radio frequency memory (DRFM) based hardware in the loop (HIL) radar environment simulation system. The clutter model was compared to a different measurement in the dataset and it was found to provide an accurate fit to urban ground clutter for the low grazing angles under consideration. The coherent component matched that of the data, while the slow diffuse component matched well for low clutter bandwidths of less than 1 Hz. For clutter bandwidths larger than 1 Hz there was approximately a 2 dB mismatch in the spectral tails.