In this chapter the primary features of the antenna will be presented, and their effect on performance will be discussed. Operational and performance issues associated with the two most important classes of radar antennas, the reflector and phased array, will be described. Emphasis will not be on antenna design, which is widely covered in the literature, but on salient antenna features and characteristics that every radar engineer should understand.

Chapter Contents:

• 9.1 Introduction
• 9.2 Basic Antenna Concepts
• 9.3 Aperture Tapers
• 9.4 Effect of the Antenna on Radar Performance
• 9.5 Monopulse
• 9.6 Reflector Antennas
• 9.7 Phased Array Antennas
• 9.8 Array Architectures
• 9.9 Further Reading
• 9.10 References
• 9.11 Problems

Inspec keywords: antenna phased arrays; reflector antennas; radar antennas

Other keywords: phased array antennas; reflector antennas; radar antennas; antenna characteristics; performance issues; operational issues; salient antenna features; radar engineer

Subjects: Antenna arrays; Radar equipment, systems and applications