TH E R A D A R EQ U A T l O !

^ y 4 5

33Cf

Figure 2.21 Azimuth variation of Ihc radar cross-section of a large Naval Auxiliary Ship at (a) S band
(281)0 MM?) and (r>) X band (9225 MHz), both with horizontal polarization.
 INTRODUCTION TO RADAR SYSTEMS

Table 2.2 Example radar cross sections at microwave frequencies

Square meters

Conventional, unmanned winged missile 0.5

Small, single engine aircraft 1
Small fighter, or 4-passenger jet 2
Large fighter 6
Medium bomber or medium jet airliner 20
Large bomber or large jet airliner 40
Jumbo jel 100
Small open boat 0.02
Small pleasure boat 2
Cabin cruiser 10
Ship at zero grazing angle See Eq. (2.38)
Ship at higher grazing angles Displacement tonnage
expressed in m1
Pickup truck 200
Automobile 100
Bicycle 2
Man 1
Bird 0.01
Insect io-!

where cr = radar cross section in square meters,/= radar frequency in megahertz, and D is the
ship's (full load) displacement in kilotons.31 This expression was derived from measurements
made at X, S, and L bands and for naval ships ranging from 2000 to 17,000 tons. Although it is
probably valid outside this size and frequency range, it does not apply to elevation angles
other than grazing incidence. At higher elevation angles, as might be viewed from aircraft, the
cross sections of ships might be considerably less than at grazing incidence, perhaps by an
order of magnitude. When no better information is available, a very rough ordci of magnitude
estimate of the ship's cross section at other-than-grazing incidence can be had by taking the ship's
displacement in tons to be equal to its cross section in square meters. The average cross section
of small pleasure boats 20 to 30 ft in length might have a radar cross section in the vicinity of a
few square meters at X band.68 Boats from 40 to 50 ft in length might have a cross section of
the order of 10 square meters.
The radar cross section of an automobile at X band is generally greater than that ol Ml
aircraft or a boat. From the front the cross section might vary from 10 to 200 m 2 at A' bind,
with 100 m2 being a typical value." The cross section increases with increasing frequency (up to
60 GHz, the range of the measurements).
The measured radar cross section of a man has been reported 32 to be as follows:

Frequency, MHz a, m
410 0.033-2.33
1,120 0.098-0.997
2,890 0.140-1.05
4,800 0.368-1.88
9,375 0.495-1.22

The spread in cross-section values represents the variation with aspect and polarization.