Radar Signature Visualization of Air Vehicles

Radar signature data can be presented in one dimension, as a dBsm level as a function of vehicle aspect angle. In a synthetic aperture radar image, data is presented in a twodimensional image: as an intensity level represented by a color located in both vehicle down range and cross range. When the radar antennas are translated both vertically and horizontally, radar data is located three-dimensionally in down range, cross range, and vertical range. This is useful because it provides for a more precise location of point scatters, which would aid a technician tasked to repair a signature flaw. The point scatterer can be identified precisely because the ambiguity in vertical range is eliminated. Also, clutter due to ground bounce and bounce off of the ceiling can be separated from vehicle returns in the vertical dimension.