Field test of long range three-dimensional ground based radar. Part I: Ground based equipment

The field test of a long range three dimensional (range, azimuth, height) radar is one of the most important stage of the project life cycle aiming to get the radar overall performance assured in the environment of use. A variety of approaches will be presented in two papers based on the experience gained during the field trials of the LEONARDO ground based three-dimensional (3D) radars. The first paper (this one) is dedicated to the ground based test equipment while the second paper is about flying test equipment. The subsequent equipment will be described in the two papers: (i) far and near field repeater, (ii) RES (Radar Environmental Simulator), (iii) RCS (Radar Cross Section) calibrated towed sphere, (iv) RCS calibrated balloon and (v) targets of opportunity like LEOS (Low Earth Orbit Satellites) for nonlinear maneuvering target tracking performance evaluation.