Design of a Radar Signature Measurement Model of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with Low Radar Signature

Authors

  • Harmen van der Ven Royal National Aerospace Center (NLR) A. Fokkerweg 2, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • David Escot Bocanegra Airbus Defence and Space Calle Aviocar, 2 28906 Getafe, Spain
  • Jesús Álvarez González Airbus Defence and Space Calle Aviocar, 2 28906 Getafe, Spain
  • Mehmet Erim İnal Aselsan Inc. Konya Yolu 8.km Ogulbey Mah, 3051. Sokak No:3, 06830 Ankara, Turkiye
  • Askin Altinoklu Aselsan Inc. Konya Yolu 8.km Ogulbey Mah, 3051. Sokak No:3, 06830 Ankara, Turkiye
  • Alper Kürşat Öztürk RAPIDEM LLC Bilkent CyberPark B-222, Cankaya, Ankara, Turkiye
  • Ulrich Jakobus Altair Engineering GmbH Calwer Str. 7, D-71034 Böblingen, Germany
  • Andrey Osipov German Aerospace Center (DLR) DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute, Muenchener Strasse 20, 82234 Wessling, Germany
  • Øystein Lie-Svendsen Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) P.O. Box 25, NO-2027 Kjeller, Norway
  • Frank Weinmann Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR Fraunhoferstraße 20, 53343 Wachtberg, Germany
  • Åsa Andersson Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) SE-164 90 Stockholm, Sweden
  • Henrik Edefur Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) SE-164 90 Stockholm, Sweden
  • Jan-Ove Hall Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) SE-164 90 Stockholm, Sweden
  • David Poyatos Martínez National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA) Ctra. de Ajalvir, Km. 4,5, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
  • Tolga Çiftçi Fethiye Mahallesi, Havacilik Bulvari No:17, Kahramankazan Ankara, Turkiye
  • Şükrü Tarık Kostak Turkish Aerospace Fethiye Mahallesi, Havacilik Bulvari No:17, Kahramankazan Ankara, Turkiye

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13052/2024.ACES.J.390602

Keywords:

radar signature, low observable, measurement model

Abstract

Existing databases of RCS benchmarks lack a complex, low-observable target. This paper describes the design of such a complex and low-observable measurement model. Starting point of the design is the so-called Muldicon model, developed by the NATO/STO/AVT panel. Hot spots of the original model are identified and treated with radar-absorbing materials. Simulations on the treated model demonstrate that the model is indeed low observable. The effect of the manufacturing process of 3D-printing and separable parts is assessed experimentally on a cone-sphere; the effect is found to be negligible. These results give confidence that the model, when built, satisfies the requirements of being complex and low observable; and that artefacts of the manufacturing process will not impair its signature.

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Author Biographies

Harmen van der Ven, Royal National Aerospace Center (NLR) A. Fokkerweg 2, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Harmen van der Ven received his Ph.D. in Mathematics in 1993 from Utrecht University. In the same year he joined the Netherlands National Aerospace Laboratory NLR where he develops numerical algorithms for fluid dynamics and electromagnetics. His main research interest is in radar signature prediction. He is also program manager Emerging Technologies at NLR. He was the chairman of the NATO/STO group SET-252.

David Escot Bocanegra, Airbus Defence and Space Calle Aviocar, 2 28906 Getafe, Spain

David Escot Bocanegra was born in Madrid, Spain. He received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in telecommunication engineering from the University of Alcala, Madrid, Spain, in 2002 and 2012, respectively. He has worked in Telecom Bretagne, Brest, France (2002-2003) and the National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA), Spain (2004-2019). He is since 2019 in Airbus Defence and Space, Spain. His current research interests are related to stealth technologies, radar cross section, computational electromagnetics and materials characterization.

Jesús Álvarez González, Airbus Defence and Space Calle Aviocar, 2 28906 Getafe, Spain

Jesús Álvarez González was born in Leon, Spain. He received the Ph.D. degree from the University of Granada, Granada, Spain, in 2013. Since 2006, he has been working as an RCS, Antenna and EMC Engineer with Airbus Defense and Space, Getafe, Spain. His research interests include computational electrodynamics in time domain, the method of moments and fast algorithms for integral equations in frequency domain and computational electromagnetics applied to electromagnetic compatibility, antenna, and radar cross section.

Mehmet Erim İnal, Aselsan Inc. Konya Yolu 8.km Ogulbey Mah, 3051. Sokak No:3, 06830 Ankara, Turkiye

Mehmet Erim İnal was born on 8 June 1971 in Mardin, Turkiye. He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical and electronics engineering from Middle East Technical University at Ankara, Turkiye, in 1993 and 1997, respectively. From 1993 till today he is employed by ASELSAN, Ankara, Turkiye. During his 30 years in the defense industry, his work mainly spans research, development and design activities of radar and electronic warfare (EW) systems, active and passive microwave devices, antennas, radomes, absorbers, frequency selective surfaces, advanced engineering materials and low observable (LO) solutions. His interest areas are interdisciplinary development cycles of critical hardware related to electromagnetics, RF and microwaves, mechanical engineering and material science. He holds several patents on antennas, absorbers and computational electromagnetics. Currently he is working as the head of “Radomes, Low Observables and Advanced Engineering Materials Design Division” in Aselsan, Ankara,Turkey.

Askin Altinoklu, Aselsan Inc. Konya Yolu 8.km Ogulbey Mah, 3051. Sokak No:3, 06830 Ankara, Turkiye

Askin Altinoklu received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Middle East Technical University, Turkey, in 2016 and 2019, respectively. From July 2016 to November 2023, he worked as an RF/Microwave design engineer at ASELSAN, Turkey, where he served as a team leader for the electromagnetic analysis team from 2019 to 2023. Currently, he is a Doctoral Research Fellow in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at the University of Essex, UK, where he is involved in the research and development activities in the SCION project funded by the European Commission within the Horizon Europe, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Doctoral Network Program. His research interests lie in machine-type communications, 6G, Energy Harvesting and SWIPT, and Semantic Communications.

Alper Kürşat Öztürk, RAPIDEM LLC Bilkent CyberPark B-222, Cankaya, Ankara, Turkiye

Alper Kürşat Öztürk was born in Yozgat, Turkey. He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical and electronics engineering at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey, in 2000 and 2002, respectively. He later earned his Ph.D. from Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada, in 2009. From 2010 to 2019, he was employed at ASELSAN, Turkey. In 2019, he founded RAPIDEM LLC, Turkey, with a focus on developing electromagnetic simulation software for RCS prediction, scattering, and antenna design. His research interests cover a broad spectrum of applied computational electromagnetics, particularly concerning integral, differential and variational equations.

Ulrich Jakobus, Altair Engineering GmbH Calwer Str. 7, D-71034 Böblingen, Germany

Ulrich Jakobus graduated in electrical engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, in 1991. He completed his Ph.D. and Habilitation and became Privatdozent at the same university in 1994 and 1997, respectively. His areas of research included numerical techniques in electromagnetics and their hybridization, antennas, EMC and bio-electromagnetics, laying the foundations for the electromagnetics simulation code Feko in 1991. Since 1998, Ulrich has been focusing on the development and commercialization of Feko. Through an acquisition, he joined Altair in 2014, where he currently oversees the development of all electromagnetic and electronic software solutions. He is a member of URSI commission B, the German VDE/ITG, Fellow of IEEE, and Fellow of ACES.

Andrey Osipov , German Aerospace Center (DLR) DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute, Muenchener Strasse 20, 82234 Wessling, Germany

Andrey Osipov received the degrees of Diploma Physicist (with honors), Candidate of Sciences (Ph.D.), and Doctor of Sciences (Habilitation), all in physics of electromagnetic waves, from the St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1983, 1987 and 1996, respectively. Since 1998 he has been with the Microwaves and Radar Institute of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). His current research interests include radar cross section engineering, theory of electromagnetic scattering by canonical objects, development of high-frequency simulation tools in radar-based remote sensing and applications of metamaterials in defense and security. Dr. Osipov is the author and co-author of two monographs, more than 160 journal and conference papers and two patents.

Øystein Lie-Svendsen, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) P.O. Box 25, NO-2027 Kjeller, Norway

Øystein Lie-Svendsenols received his dr.scient. (Ph.D.) in physics from the University of Oslo, Norway, in 1988. From 1990-1993 he was employed as research associate at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, working on numerical models of plasma transport in the Earth’s ionosphere. From 1993 onwards he has worked at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), currently as principal scientist. His research topics have been space physics, continuing his work on modelling plasma transport in the solar atmosphere and the solar wind, and, more lately, radar.

Frank Weinmann, Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR Fraunhoferstraße 20, 53343 Wachtberg, Germany

Frank Weinmann received the Dr.-Ing. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, in 2004. Since 2004 he is with the Fraunhofer FHR Research Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques in Wachtberg, Germany, as a Research Engineer. In 2009, he became Teamleader of the Electromagnetic Modelling Group, in 2017 he became head of the department Antenna Technology and Electromagnetic Modelling, and since 2023 he is head of the department Antennas & Frontend. Dr. Weinmann’s major areas of interest include all aspects of antenna development, metamaterials and metasurfaces, as well as propagation modeling of electromagnetic waves, high-frequency asymptotic techniques, modeling of radar signatures, and studies in the fields of wind turbine scattering as well as automotive radar.

Åsa Andersson, Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) SE-164 90 Stockholm, Sweden

Åsa Andersson received the M.Sc. degree in Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering and the Ph.D. degree in Theoretical Physics from Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden in 1996 and 2002, respectively. Since 2003, she has been with the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), Linköping, Sweden, working with electronic warfare modeling, advanced low observable materials and radar signatures. Her present activities are focused on research and applications of electromagnetic modeling and calculations of radar signatures for military systems.

Henrik Edefur, Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) SE-164 90 Stockholm, Sweden

Henrik Edefur graduated from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm 2002 with a master degree in aeronautics. He started working at FOI 2004 as a research engineer and was last year appointed to senior scientist. All this time at FOI he has been working with aircraft conceptual design and analysis.

Jan-Ove Hall, Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) SE-164 90 Stockholm, Sweden

Jan-Ove Hall obtained his M.Sc. in 2000 and a Ph.D. in space physics in 2004, both from Uppsala University in Sweden. Subsequent to completing his doctoral studies, Dr. Hall embarked on a postdoctoral research position. In 2006, he transitioned to the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), where he conducts research in radar signature management.

David Poyatos Martínez, National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA) Ctra. de Ajalvir, Km. 4,5, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

David Poyatos received his M.Sc. degree in Telecommunication Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain, in 1998 and a Ph.D. degree in Computational and Applied Electromagnetics from the University of Alcala, Spain, in 2017. He joined the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), Spain, in 1997. Since 2015, he is the head of the Radiofrequency Area at INTA. His current research activities are related to the simulation, measurement and analysis of antennas and radar signature and the electromagnetic characterization of materials.

Tolga Çiftçi, Fethiye Mahallesi, Havacilik Bulvari No:17, Kahramankazan Ankara, Turkiye

Tolga Çiftçi received the B.Sc. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey, in 2012, and the M.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering from Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey in 2019. Since 2016, he has been with Turkish Aerospace Industries, currently working as Lead Engineer. His current research interests include computational electromagnetics, optimization techniques, electromagnetic analysis, electromagnetic compatibility and electromagnetic testing.

Şükrü Tarık Kostak, Turkish Aerospace Fethiye Mahallesi, Havacilik Bulvari No:17, Kahramankazan Ankara, Turkiye

Şükrü Tarık Kostak received the B.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Istanbul, Turkey, in 2018. Since 2018, he has been with Turkish Aerospace Industries, currently working as Structural Design Chief Engineer. His current research interest is development of next generation fighter aircrafts.

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Published

2024-06-30

How to Cite

[1]
H. van der Ven, “Design of a Radar Signature Measurement Model of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with Low Radar Signature”, ACES Journal, vol. 39, no. 06, pp. 478–489, Jun. 2024.

Issue

2024: Vol 39 Iss 6

Section

General Submission

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