Proposed standards for ladar signatures

The laser radar (LR) signatures program sponsored by the Ballistic Missile Defense Advanced Technology Center is directed towards employing LR target scattering for the identification and discrimination of threatening objects. The scattered target radiation is usually expressed in terms of various types of laser radar cross sections (LRCS). Unfortunately, in the past there has not been universal agreement on the precise definitions of the LRCS's of interest, nor has there been a common traceable method for calibrating the diverse systems used in measuring experimental values of LRC's. For example, cross section definitions based on radar use can differ by a factor of 4 from definitions based on the optical use of diffuse plates. Polarization is another factor that is not consistently taken into account. This report represents an effort by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) to encourage the adoption of a common basis for LRCS measurements.