Inband radar cross section of phased arrays with parallel feeds

Abstract

Approximate formulas for the inband radar cross section of arrays with parallel feeds are presented. To obtain the formulas, multiple reflections are neglected, and devices of the same type are assumed to have identical electrical performance. The approximate results were compared to the results obtained using a scattering matrix formulation. Both methods were in agreement with predicting RCS lobe positions, levels, and behavior with scanning. The advantages of the approximate method are its computational efficiency and its flexibility in handling an arbitrary number of coupler levels.