Air Force Research Laboratory advanced compact range RCS uncertainty analysis for a general target

• Published in: IEEE antennas & propagation magazine Vol. 45; no. 3; pp. 195 - 201
• Main Authors: Welsh, B.M., Muller, W.D., Kent, B.M.
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.06.2003; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Calibration; Certification; Dynamic range; Error analysis; Force measurement; Laboratories; Measurement standards; Measurement uncertainty; Military aircraft; Military planes; Radar cross section; Radar cross sections; Radar measurements; Radar scattering; Scattering; Studies; Uncertainty
• ISSN: 1045-9243; 1558-4143
• DOI: 10.1109/MAP.2003.1232185

A calibration uncertainty analysis was conducted for the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL's) Advanced Compact Range (ACR) in 2000. This analysis was a key component of the Radar Cross Section (RCS) ISO-25 (ANSI-Z-540) Range Certification Demonstration Project. The scope of the RCS uncertainty analysis for the demonstration project-was limited to calibration targets. Since that time, we have initiated a detailed RCS uncertainty analysis for a more-typical target measured in the ACR. A "more typical" target is one that is much larger with respect to a wavelength than the calibration targets, and that is characterized by a wide dynamic range of RCS scattering levels. We chose a 10-foot ogive as the target, due to the fact it was a large target, exhibited a wide dynamic range of scattering, and the scattering levels could be predicted using readily available CEM codes. We present the methodology for the uncertainty analysis and detailed analyses of selected component uncertainties. The aspects of the uncertainty analysis that are unique to the "typical target" (i.e., a non-calibration target) are emphasized.