Radar Cross Sections of Six Different Radar Reflectors Mounted on Power Boats

The purpose of this research is to develop a powerboat radar reflector with the largest radar cross section (RCS) under the cost-effective principle. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method was used to calculate the RCSs of six aluminum radar reflectors with different structures at frequencies of 600–4000 MHz. With the same aluminum volume of 48,202 mm3, the maximum RCSs of the six aluminum radar reflectors are found within the range of 0.17–0.77 m2 at frequencies of 600–4000 MHz. Each radar reflector has a different maximum value of RCS at its individual resonant frequency. The radar reflector features, including shape, material property, and structure, will significantly affect the RCS at the same frequency.