Radar environment characterization by signal processing techniques

Selecting the optimal site for a surveillance radar is a complex task including the minimization of unwanted radar echoes due to land, vegetation and man-made infrastructures, called land clutter (or fixed clutter) in the radar jargon. Such a disturbing phenomenon may be orders of magnitude more powerful than the useful echoes due to the targets of interest, making them hardly visible. A careful selection of the radar site may minimize the extent of land clutter, but the related experimental analysis by a set of live measurements may require movements of heavy and bulky radar sets. In this paper, aimed at the widely used X-Band (3 cm wavelength) radars, we propose a novel, simpler and practical approach based on the calibration, using standard radar reflectors and signal processing means, of a simple, light and cheap X-band radar, easily movable in the operational site. Live results are presented and discussed.