MATLAB: How to design a bistatic radar system

Question

I am trying to model a bistatic radar system based on the Phased Array System Toolbox.

I got start by the example of "Designing a Basic Monostatic Pulse Radar" and I tried to find out the difference between the two. We use "rsig = step(hcollector,rsig,tgt_ang)" to collect all echoes, I think if we design a bistatic system, "tgt_ang" should be calculated by the receiver position.

However, i think the processing procedure should also be different. Could someone give me some guidance?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi Liangjun,

You are right that the reflection direction will be different for a bistatic system compared to a monostatic system. However, the target model in Phased Array System Toolbox is a very basic point target described by a single RCS value. So it can apply to both monostatic and bistatic systems. It basically assumes that the mean RCS is aspect independent and the small variation in RCS can be described by Swerling models.

I'm not an expert for bistatic radar system but I believe most of the procedures are the same in a bistatic system compared to a monostatic system. The tricky part is to be aware of the geometry in a bistatic system. For example, the iso-range curves become ellipses. There are several references available for bistatic systems such as Willis' Bistatic Radar.