Measurement and Calibration of Direction-Finding Characteristics of a Three-Coordinate Monopulse Radar with S-Band Phased Array Antenna

The measurement methods and calibration algorithm of direction-finding characteristics of a three-coordinate monopulse radar with S-band phased array antenna are considered. The calibration purpose is to find amplitude and phase corrections for the transmission coefficients of sum and difference radar channels, allowing to minimize the effect of feeder paths complex transmission coefficients non-identity, temperature influences, phase shifter failures and technological variations of antenna on the direction finding accuracy. The proposed calibration algorithm, implemented using object-oriented programming methods, is based on comparing the antenna reference characteristics, measured at the near-field stand, with experimental data, obtained during the radar operation.