RADAR TARGETING

Tracking radar system must be aligned or oriented in some coordinate system to accurately provide data for the effective functioning of its weapon system.

A very real concern of the system operators, is their ability to accurately align the azimuth, elevation, and range references of the radar.  The RACOR (Radar Coherent Responder) target is a device that will improve the alignment accuracy of most radars.

The radar data (AZ/EL/Range) is dependent upon the accuracy of the target survey and also upon the quality of the radar signal returned from that target.  Often a corner reflector/luneberg lens or other passive radar signal augmenter is used as a point target for aligning or orienting the radar.  These work well unless the radar clutter is too strong and competes with the signal from the passive target causing a noisy track which will degrade the radar alignment.

The unattended RACOR is a state of the art radar target that is "Clutter Free" and will provide the ideal "Zero Time Delay" point target for aligning or calibrating radars.

Passive targets are sometimes located on a tall tower to minimize the clutter volume.  This is not necessary with the RACOR target since the clutter is rejected by the skirts of the radar receiver.

The potential for multipath complications corrupting the elevation alignment is also minimized as the target is lowered, assuming line of sight is maintained.  The RACOR may be placed close to the ground virtually eliminating elevation/multipath problems.