VHF/UHF synthetic aperture radar image simulations of a vehicle using FDTD

The airborne low frequency radar systems CARABAS-II and LORA are intended for target detection of concealed ground objects. In order to gain knowledge of the target identification performance of LORA, the radar signatures of targets need to be simulated. Numerical electromagnetic scattering simulations of a military terrain vehicle (Tgb311A) positioned on a homogeneous ground have therefore been performed in the frequency range 20 MHz-755 MHz. Several flight tracks have been simulated using the Finite Difference Time-Domain method and a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image simulator. SAR images have been formed for both CARABAS-II frequencies (20-90 MHz) and LORA frequencies (195-755 MHz). The simulation results show that the extension of bandwidth using the LORA-system significantly improves the capability to identify the type of object.