A Quantitative Comparison of the Littoral Clutter Model (LCM) to Collected Data in the Ku-Band

Accurate, site-specific clutter modeling is vital to both the radar operating community, in the areas of mission planning and survivability analysis, and to the design community for radar performance assessment and design studies. Accuracy is achieved through rigorous accounting of radar parameters, local terrain features (height, natural and cultural features, slope, roughness, and land cover types), and propagation effects (diffraction, refraction, shadowing, and multipath) [1], [3], [4]. Through the years, a number of clutter models have been generated to varying degrees of complexity. Authors of the past have studied the accuracy of their respective models largely in a qualitative or overarching statistical manner [1]–[5], [15]–[17]. The Littoral Clutter Model (LCM) is a robust, site-specific land and sea clutter model developed and maintained by Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) [4], [5]. This paper compares LCM modeled data with radar data collected in the Ku-band. The data were collected at two disparate test sites representing desert and littoral terrain types and propagation conditions. In order to increase the achieved accuracy, high-resolution terrain elevation and land cover databases were used as input to the model. A comparison method is presented which directly quantifies the ability of LCM to simulate clutter power. A high-quality match requires that LCM accurately simulate the spatial manifestation and power of clutter as seen by the radar. Results show that the LCM simulation compares favorably to the collected data.