Multimode Adaptable Microwave Radar Sensor Based on Leaky-Wave Antennas

New research and recent developments in active defense systems represent a promising way to protect military vehicles by detecting and subsequently eliminating threatening missiles with appropriate active counter-measures. Operating these defense systems requires a number of sensors, usually microwave, which must, above all, identify and track the target while generating signals to determine the correct counter-measure reaction. This paper shows that such multifunction and multimode sensors can be designed and implemented using leaky-wave antennas (LWAs). Connected radar circuits often employ a wideband modulation, so an analysis of the influence of the LWAs used on such a modulation is also included. A multimode adaptable pseudonoise radar equipped with LWAs was tested using bullets and live, armed cumulative missiles. The results confirm the functionality of the solutions presented.