Radar cross-section modeling of marine vessels in practical oceanic environments for high-frequency surface-wave radar

Models of the Teleost marine vessel and the Bonn express cargo freighter are developed for generation of monostatic and bistatic radar cross section (RCS) returns for high-frequency surface-wave radar (HFSWR). Simulated monostatic RCS values are in good agreement with measured values at 4.1 MHz, thus additional investigations, to model varied practical situations may also be of interest. Specifically, the effects of pitch and roll and ship displacement (due to cargo container loading) are studied. Results show that the monostatic RCS of the Teleost can vary by more than 10 dB for a 10deg roll or a 15deg pitch incline. These results also suggest that the monostatic RCS of the Teleost has a null at broadside at the radar frequency of 7 MHz likely due to the resonant scattering of the A-frame mast and antenna structures. In addition, by modeling the Bonn Express with a full load and varied displacement, a very good agreement between the measured and simulated RCS can be observed.