Radar cross section (RCS) is one of several attributes NI-VRTS uses to configure the simulated object.

RCS is the area of an object that reflects a radar signal back to its origin at the same power at which it was transmitted. The RCS of an object is influenced by factors such as the object's characteristics, the frequency of the signal striking the object, and the scattering direction of the reflected signal.

The RCS of an object can be understood mathematically as



where

  • R is the distance between the radar and object
  • E s is the scattered field strength at the radar
  • E i is the incident field strength at the radar

VRTS simulates RCS by changing the gain of the signal, which by default is handled in units of dBsm.

In LabVIEW, set the RCS property to the desired RCS value of your object.