3-D Scattering Center Determination Algorithm for Detecting Primary Radar Cross-Section Contributing Regions on a Radar Target

In this paper, we present a novel algorithm for determining the 3-D scattering centers of a target that cause an increase in radar observability or radar cross-section (RCS) of the platform. The scattering centers on a given platform are calculated using the current density induced on the surface for the given direction of illumination and frequency of operation. The current density may be computed using a full-wave or an approximate electromagnetic solver. For a given point on the surface of the scatterer, the relative RCS contribution is computed by evaluating the radiation integral within a specific neighborhood. This RCS contribution value is then assigned to the corresponding point on the surface of the target, forming a color map of RCS contributions on the 3-D model of the scatterer. This approach can be further used as feedback mechanism to reduce the RCS in an iterative manner.