Radar range equation

To predict the signal power received by a radar from a target

with known radar cross section (RCS) at a given range, the
radar range equation (sometimes referred to as simply the
radar equation) is used.
The received signal power, Pr, depends on a variety of
system parameters as well as the targets RCS and range.

Note that the radar equation may be written in a variety of

forms for different applications (e.g., point target vs. extended target).

Therefore rather than attempting to memorize the different

forms, it may be easier to simply derive the equation, as the
derivation is fairly straightforward.

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 Radar equation
Received signal power, Pr, is an essential radar parameter.
The radar range equation, used to determine Pr, involves
the geometry and system parameters.
Bistatic geometry

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 Radar equation
The power density incident on the
scatterer, Ss, is
1
Ss Pt G t
2
W m
2

4Rt
Pt is the transmit signal power (W)
Gt is the transmit antennas gain in the direction of the scatterer
Rt is the range from the transmitter to the scatterer (m)
The power intercepted by the scatterer, Prs, is
Prs Ss A rs W
Ars is the scatterers effective area (m2)
The power reradiated by the scatterer, Pts, is
Pts Prs 1 f a W
fa is the fraction of intercepted power absorbed
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 Radar equation
The power density at the
receiver, Sr, is
1
Sr Pts G ts
2
W m 2

4Rr
Gts is the gain of the scatterer in the
direction of the receiver
Rr is the range from the receiver to the scatterer, (m)
The power intercepted by the receiver, Pr, is
Pr Sr Ar W
Ar is the effective area of the receiver aperture, (m2)
Combining the pieces yields

Pr
Pt G t A r
Ars 1 f a G ts W
4 R t R r 2

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 Radar equation
The terms associated with the scatterer may be combined
into a single variable, , the radar scattering cross section
(RCS).
A rs 1 f a G ts m 2

The RCS value will depend on the scatterers shape and

composition as well as on the observation geometry.
For bistatic observations

q0 , f0 ; qs , fs ; p 0 , p s , m 2
where
(q0, f0) = direction of incident power
(qs, fs) = direction of scattered power
(p0, ps) = polarization state of incident
and scattered fields

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 Radar equation
In monostatic radar systems the transmit and receive
antennas are collocated (placed together, side-by-side) such that
q0 = qs, f0 = fs, and Rt = Rr so that the RCS becomes

q, f; p 0 , ps m
2

The radar range equation for the monostatic case is

Pr
Pt G t A r
W
4 R
2 2
Monostatic geometry

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 Radar equation
If the same antenna or identical antennas are used in a
monostatic radar system then
G t G r G and A t A r A
and recognizing the relationship between A and G
2 G 4A
A and G 2
4
we can write
Pt G 2 2 Pt A 2
Pr
4 R
3 4
4 2 R 4 Monostatic geometry

Including losses yields

Pt G 2 2 L
Pr
4 3 R 4
where L < 1
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 Radar equation
Extraction of useful information using signal analysis requires
that the signal be discernable from noise, interference, and
clutter.
Noise usually originates inside the receiver itself (e.g.,
receiver noise figure) though may also come from external
sources (e.g., thermal emissions, lightning).
Interference is another coherent, spectrally-narrow emission
that impedes the reception of the desired signal (e.g., a
jammer). [May originate internal or external to radar]
Clutter is unwanted radar echoes that interfere with the
observation of signals from targets of interest.

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 Radar equation
Receiver noise power, PN
PN k T0 B F , W
k is Boltzmanns constant (1.38 10-23 J K-1)
T0 is the absolute temperature (290 K)
B is the receiver bandwidth (Hz)
F is the receiver noise figure

Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is

Pt G 2 2
SNR Pr PN
4 3 R 4 k T0 B F
may be expressed in decibels
SNRdB 10 log 10 SNR
Many applications require SNR > 10
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 Radar range equation example
Example
Radar center frequency, f = 9.5 GHz
Transmit power, Pt = 100 kW
Bandwidth, B = 100 MHz
Receiver noise figure, FREC = 2 (F = 3 dB)
Antenna dimensions, 1 m x 1 m (square aperture)
Range to target, R = 20 km (12.5 miles)
Target RCS, = 1 m2 (small aircraft or boat)
Find the Pr , PN , and the SNR
First derive some related radar parameters
Wavelength, = 3.15 cm
Antenna gain, G = 4A/2 (assuming l = 1)
A = 1 m2 and Rff = 127 m
G = 12,600 or 41 dBi
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 Radar range equation example
Pt G 2 2
Find Pr Pr
Solve in dB
4 3 R 4
Pr(dBm) = Pt(dBm) + 2G(dBi) + 2 (dB) + (dBsm) 3 4(dB) 4 R(dB)
Pt(dBm) = 80 G(dBi) = 41 (dB) = -15 (dBsm) = 0
4(dB) = 11 R(dB) = 43
Pr(dBm) = -73 dBm or 50 pW

Find PN PN k T0 B F W
Solve in dB
PN(dBm) = kT0(dBm) + B(dB) + F(dB)
kT0(dBm) = -174 B(dB) = 80 F(dB) = 3
PN(dBm) = -91 dBm or 0.8 pW

Find SNR SNR = 73 (91) = 18 dB or 62

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 Radar range equation example
Several options are available to improve the SNR.
Increase the transmitter power, Pt
Changing Pt from 100 kW to 200 kW improves the SNR by 3 dB
Increase the antenna aperture area, A, and gain, G
Changing A from 1 m2 to 2 m2 improves the SNR by 6 dB
Decrease the range, R, to the target
Changing R from 20 km to 10 km improves the SNR by 12 dB
Decrease the receiver noise figure, F
Changing F from 2 to 1 improves the SNR by 3 dB
Decrease the receiver bandwidth, B
Changing B from 100 MHz to 50 MHz improves the SNR by 3 dB
only if the received signal power remains constant
Change the operating frequency, f, and wavelength,
Changing f from 9.5 GHz to 4.75 GHz degrades the SNR by 6 dB
Changing f from 9.5 GHz to 19 GHz improves SNR by 6 dB
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 More radar range equation examples
Radar range equation example #1 Radar range equation example #2 Radar range equation example #3
parameter units value parameter units value parameter units value
Constants Constants Constants
c m/s 3.00E+08 c m/s 3.00E+08 c m/s 3.00E+08
k J/K 1.38E-23 k J/K 1.38E-23 k J/K 1.38E-23
Target parameters Target parameters Target parameters
R m 29 R m 1000 R m 1000
m2 1 m2 1 m2 1
Radar paramters Radar paramters Radar paramters
f GHz 1 f GHz 1 f GHz 10
Pt W 10 Pt W 10 Pt W 10
loss -- 0.5 loss -- 0.5 loss -- 0.5
Lx m 0.3 Lx m 0.3 Lx m 0.3
Ly m 0.3 Ly m 0.3 Ly m 0.3
T K 290 T K 290 T K 290
B Hz 3.00E+06 B Hz 3.00E+06 B Hz 3.00E+06
F -- 2 F -- 2 F -- 2
Derived parameters Derived parameters Derived parameters
m 0.3 m 0.3 m 0.03
G -- 12.6 G -- 12.6 G -- 1256.6
Rff m 0.6 Rff m 0.6 Rff m 6.0
DR m 50 DR m 50 DR m 50
Ae m2 0.09 Ae m2 0.09 Ae m2 0.09
linear dB linear dB linear dB
parameter units value value units parameter units value value units parameter units value value units
Radar received signal power Radar received signal power Radar received signal power
Pt W 10 40 dBm Pt W 10 40 dBm Pt W 10 40 dBm
Gt -- 12.6 11.0 dBi Gt -- 12.6 11.0 dBi Gt -- 1256.6 31.0 dBi
Gr -- 12.6 11.0 dBi Gr -- 12.6 11.0 dBi Gr -- 1256.6 31.0 dBi
2 m2 9.00E-02 -10.5 dBsm 2 m2 9.00E-02 -10.5 dBsm 2 m2 9.00E-04 -30.5 dBsm
m2 1 0.0 dBsm m2 1 0.0 dBsm m2 1 0.0 dBsm
loss -- 0.5 -3.0 dB loss -- 0.5 -3.0 dB loss -- 0.5 -3.0 dB
(4)-3 -- 5.04E-04 -33.0 dB (4)-3 -- 5.04E-04 -33.0 dB (4)-3 -- 5.04E-04 -33.0 dB
R-4 m4 1.41387E-06 -58.5 dB R-4 m4 1E-12 -120.0 dB R-4 m4 1E-12 -120.0 dB
Pr W 5.06303E-08 -43.0 dBm Pr W 3.58099E-14 -104.5 dBm Pr W 3.58099E-12 -84.5 dBm
Sr W/m2 5.06303E-08 72.8 dBu Sr W/m2 3.58099E-14 11.3 dBu Sr W/m2 3.58099E-12 31.3 dBu
Received noise power Received noise power Received noise power
PN W 2.40E-14 -106.2 dBm PN W 2.40E-14 -106.2 dBm PN W 2.40E-14 -106.2 dBm
Received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) Received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) Received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)
SNR -- 2.11E+06 63.2 dB SNR -- 1.49E+00 1.7 dB SNR -- 1.49E+02 21.7 dB
Range measurement accuracy Range measurement accuracy Range measurement accuracy
dR m 0.024 dR m 28.951 dR m 2.895

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How big must a target be for = 1 m2

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