Efficient Measurement System to Investigate Micro-Doppler Signature of Ballistic Missile

Abstract

Micro-Doppler (MD) shift caused by the micro-motion of a ballistic missile (BM) can be very useful to identify it. In this paper, the MD signatures of three scale-model BMs are investigated using a portable measurement system. The measurement system consists of an X-band 2-by-2 phase comparison mono-pulse radar, and a mechanical device that can impart controlled spinning and coning motions simultaneously to a model to yield the MD signature that replicates the characteristic of each target and the corresponding micro-motion. The coning motion determined the overall period of MD, and the spinning motion increased its amplitude. MD was also dependent on aspect angle. The designed system is portable, and can implement many micro-motions; it will contribute to analysis of MD in various situations.