Performance Degradation Investigations of Helicopter Forward-Looking 76 GHz Millimeter-Wave Radar Due to Radome

Obstacles such as high-voltage power lines and surrounding objects cannot be easily recognized by helicopter pilots under certain conditions. Systems to support pilots for obstacle detection have been recently developed, and they include the millimeter-wave radar as the primary sensor device. In this study, the performance degradation of a helicopter forward-looking 76 GHz millimeter-wave radar of a due to its radome is experimentally investigated. Issues due to the reflection from the radome surface are analyzed. Ground test results indicated that the conventional radome structure increases the noise floor by more than 20 dB. Such degradation can be improved using the proposed radome structure.