Based on the numerical determination of the complete irradiation volume of a commercial RBS antenna--performed using the FDTD method and the Kirchhoff integral formula for near to far field transformation--open site estimations of the electric field are made and compared with experimentally measured values. To describe the actual behaviour of the radiation field, the inherently complex phasic nature of plane waves is taken into account, together with their two independent states of polarisation. This information is contained in the radiation pattern previously deduced. Moreover, a reflected contribution from flat ground is introduced, along with the line-of-sight ray. Amplitude and phase of the reflected wave are calculated using Fresnel formulae for stratified ground and two polarisation states, i.e. normal and parallel to the plane of incidence. Good agreement with measured values is achieved only by using such assumptions.