REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

www.mod.gov.rs

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Material Resources Sector

Defensive Technologies Department

Military Technical Institute

www.vti.mod.gov.rs

HFSW RADAR DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS: ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE

NIKOLA TOSIĆ

Institute VLATACOM, Belgrade, Serbia, nikola.tosic@vlatacom.com

nikola Stojković

Institute VLATACOM, Belgrade, Serbia, nikola.stojkovic@vlatacom.com

DEJAN NIKOLIĆ

Institute VLATACOM, Belgrade, Serbia, dejan.nikolic@vlatacom.com

BOJAN DZOLIC

Institute VLATACOM, Belgrade, Serbia, bojan.dzolic@vlatacom.com

NIKOLA LEKIĆ

Institute VLATACOM, Belgrade, Serbia, nikola.lekic@vlatacom.com

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to investigate and present effects of environmental noise on High Frequency Surface Wave Radar (HFSWR) design procedure and its operational performance in a real working environment. The paper starts with an estimation of environmental noise levels, based on available international recommendations and software packages. Then estimated environmental noise effects on radar range and detection capabilities are discussed, taking into account HF noise daily and seasonal variations. Since no estimation is 100 % accurate, noise levels are taken from the field, precisely Gulf of Guinea, and comparison is made. This comparison shows that international recommendations are not very accurate, mostly due to the fact that Gulf of Guinea is rapidly developing region and recommendations are issued on approximately 10 year period. Based on this discussion, a new estimation of radar performance is done and more realistic performance prediction is presented.

Keywords: Radar, HF radar, HFSW, environmental noise, marine systems.