Range Velocity Blind Zone for airborne MPRF radar in look-down search mode

Range Velocity Blind Zone as Measure of Performance can be used to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of radar performance under different operating condition. The performances of medium pulse repetition frequency (MPRF) radar operating in air-to-air look-down search mode are strongly influenced by presence of ground clutter. Because of platform motion, clutter returns in airborne radar applications spread in Doppler frequency which cause false alarms generation. Prediction of performance in terms of range velocity blind zone requires model that is capable of reproducing target and clutter characteristics as a function of range and frequency. In this paper we propose a model to quantify the effects of ground clutter, target echo and signal processing chain of radar system on range velocity blind zones. This approach facilitates design tradeoff analysis as well as overall performance prediction of the radar under variety of clutter environment.