Key Points: An active calibration target as reference target for bistatic RCS measurements. The target is simple to manufacture, lightweight and compact for airborne deployment via a remote controlled drone. 1 AbstractEither passive calibration targets are expensive and complex to manufacture or their bistatic RCS levels are significantly lower than the monostatic RCS levels of targets such as spheres, dihedraland trihedral corner reflectors. In this paper the performance of an active calibration target with relative high bistatic RCS values is illustrated as a reference target for bistatic RCS measurements. The reference target is simple to manufacture, operates over a wide frequency range and can be configured to calibrate all four polarizations (VV, HH, HV and VH). Bistatic RCS measurements of canonical targets, performed in a controlled environment, are calibrated with the reference target and the results are compared to simulated results using FEKO.

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ABSTRACT-The radar cross section (RCS) of passive calibration targets is relatively low, which leads to a commensurate increase in the uncertainty of the radar's calibration. To address this deficiency, an active radar calibration (ARC) target was developed, which was mounted on a small remote controlled tri-copter and used for radar calibration. Results are presented for this relatively small, light weight and cost effective airborne ARC, which is suitable for the calibration of a ground to air RCS measurement system. The static RCS characteristics of the airborne ARC target were measured in a compact range and compared to outdoor measurements with the ARC target mounted on the tri-copter. The airborne capability of the calibration target was used to reduce the effects of multi-path and clutter.