Ground Clutter and Airborne Radar

The ground is a major consideration for most airborne systems, with uncontrolled interactions normally ending badly. Airborne radar is no exception, and the effects of ground clutter are arguably the major challenge facing airborne radars. Ground clutter is visible over a wide range of directions, appears at most ranges of interest, and is moving relative to the radar. To make matters worse, antenna characteristics along with range and Doppler ambiguities mean that ground clutter rears its ugly in places where it has no business being. Mother Nature is clearly doing her best to ensure that engineers have enough challenges to keep them out of mischief.

The primary characteristics of ground clutter will be evaluated to provide insight into how it affects airborne radar systems. The way radar properties influence the effect of ground clutter will then be explored with a view to understanding the origin of some of the unique characteristics of airborne radars. Finally, some approaches to minimising the effect of ground clutter will be addressed to develop an appreciation of why airborne radar systems operate the way they do.

Speaker and Presenter Information

Warren du Plessis received the B.Eng. (Electronic) and M.Eng. (Electronic) and Ph.D. (Engineering) degrees from the University of Pretoria in 1998, 2003 and 2010 respectively, winning numerous academic awards including the prestigious Vice-Chancellor and Principal's Medal. He has been working in EW and radar since 2006 and is currently a Professor at the University of Pretoria. Prof. du Plessis is a registered Professional Engineer (Pr.Eng.), a Senior Member of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Lifetime Member of the Association of Old Crows (AOC), has served as a member of the AOC Aardvark Roost Board, and is a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). He is an Associate Editor for EW for the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems. Prof. du Plessis is author of 73 published and accepted peer-reviewed journal and conference papers and is lead or sole author of 39 of these and co- or second author on a further 29 papers, thereby demonstrating his leading role in developing and evaluating innovative new concepts. While his primary research interest has been cross-eye jamming, Prof. du Plessis has also published on issues such as engineering education, data reduction, and cognitive EW.