Recent Advances in Radar

The continuing evolution of new components is resulting in corresponding advances in radar systems. The paper commences with a brief review of some of the basic radar parameters which have been influenced in the recent past by improvements in component technology and an indication is given of the ranges of these parameters which are now available to the designer. The principal part of the paper is a survey of the recent advances made in radar sub-systems and systems and in the understanding of the radar characteristics of targets and clutter. The review of sub-systems covers electronic beam steering, pulse compression, signal and data processors, constant false alarm rate circuits and displays. System principles discussed include within-pulse scanning, low-angle tracking techniques and synthetic aperture radar.