A method for measuring the effective scattering area of targets in actual conditions

A method for measuring the effective scattering area (ESA) of radar targets is described, and an equation for computing the ESA is presented. The functional design of an ESA meter is examined; and it is shown that the present approach makes it possible to eliminate the effect of the instability of radiated power and the frequency of the sounding signal, as well as the drift of the amplitude characteristics of the receiver-amplifier channel, on the accuracy of measurement of instantaneous values of the ESA. The operating speed of the meter is increased by the use of digital signal processing.