RADAR System Characterization Extended to Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation for the Lab-Volt TM Training System

Modeling RADAR signals in software allows the testing of potential electronic counter measures and electronic counter counter measures without the associated RADAR hardware and test facilities. Performing a characterization process on a real world RADAR system reveals all imperfections within the system. The Lab-Volt TM RADAR system served as the characterized real world RADAR system. The characterization process consisted of measurements at selected front panel locations on the Lab-Volt TM transmitter module, antenna pedestal, receiver module, and dual channel sampler module. Due to the overwhelming influence of antenna parameters on a received signal, the characterization process also attempted to derive an antenna transfer function that described how the antenna lters a signal that is passed through it. The characterization process also determined the manner in which different adjustments influenced the signal.