Study of Millimeter-Wave Radar for Helicopter Assisted-Landing System

Landing helicopters on rough unprepared terrain has always been considered hazardous, since the massive dust cloud generated by wind drafts from the helicopter's rotors completely obstructs the pilot's view of the landing area. This article presents a performance assessment of a proposed millimeter-wave (MMW) three-dimensional imaging radar system, specifically meant for helicopter assisted landing. The assessment includes simulation of radar backscattering from the underlying rough terrain, in addition to the signal attenuation and scattering from dust clouds generated by the helicopter's rotors. Terrain scattering is simulated in two steps: 1) generation of a two-scale random rough surface according to prescribed statistics of a large-scale undulation and a small-scale surface roughness; and 2) simulation of the returned signal, including the effects of the real-aperture radar parameters and the terrain-backscatter response. Details of the three-dimensional imaging algorithm are presented. Single-scattering theory is used to simulate the effects of a dust cloud - including signal attenuation and backscatter clutter generation - on the radar's performance. It is shown that operating in the upper millimeter-wave regime (70 GHz-220 GHz) is the most practical solution for a compact, high-resolution, three-dimensional imaging system for this problem.