A Local RCS Diagnosis Method Based on Near Field Measurement

Due to the excessive cost of 360° “multiple-transmitter and multiple-receiving” near-field measurement in practical engineering applications, a truncated angular near-field measurement method with a given accuracy requirement is proposed in this article by analyzing the influence of the near-field scattering characteristics and the near-to-far-field transformation on the radar cross section (RCS) to greatly reduce the angular range of near-field antennas. In addition, it is often necessary to focus on components with strong scattering echoes while analyzing and diagnosing the local RCS. Therefore, an engineering-oriented near-field measurement method is proposed in this article to achieve local RCS diagnoses of the targets. It includes two scanning modes, an arc array and a linear array, to achieve the goal of quickly performing local RCS analyses and diagnoses of coupled scattering targets through near-field testing. Regardless of the cost of the test site, the operability of the test system, and the efficiency of the work, this method provides a new technique for RCS measurement of stealth targets and has important research significance in weapon engineering test phases.