Optimal radar bistatic angle by statistical analysis of scattering patterns

In this work, we introduce the concept of optimal bistatic angle such that the scattered radar target signal has a robust strength level irrespective of the target aspect. The concept involves statistically analyzing the scattering patterns as a function of the target aspect to a fixed and known incident radar direction. Henceforth, statistical quantities like mean and standard deviation are used to obtain statistics patterns for radar scattering patterns of an ellipsoid, a cylinder, and a square shape targets. Since different targets are likely to have different optimal angles, we propose using the optimal angle concept to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of a target of interest. This benefit can be further exploited in a radar target classification process.