MIMO for conformal array radar: More than an option

Abstract

Conformal array radar can make full use of the appearance of the carrier like an aircraft to achieve a larger aperture. However, as the elements therein may often have complicated beam patterns, the phased-array radar mode may be difficult in forming a desirable transmit beampattern. In this paper, we present transmit waveform design criteria for both the phased-array radar mode and the Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) radar mode, with numerical results to indicate that the MIMO radar mode can match a desirable transmit beampattern better for a conformal array radar.