Electromagnetic Modelling of Micro-Doppler Signatures of Commercial Airborne Drones

Abstract

We analyze the micro-Doppler spectrum of a drone by studying the radar cross sections (RCSs) of a commercial drone with respect to position of its propellers. Major differences in the RCS of the original drone, compared to a model of a drone without the propellers are presented. These differences, originating from electromagnetic field scattered from propellers, will be Doppler-shifted and will thus result in a micro-Doppler signature of a drone, which, in turn, can be used to facilitate target detection, classification, and tracking. Method for calculating the spectrum of the micro-Doppler signature of a drone is also presented.