Pienaar, MoniqueOdendaal, J.W. (Johann Wilhelm)Cilliers, Jacques E.Kloke, Kevin HughJoubert, Johan2016-05-112016-05Pienaar, M, Odendaal, JW, Cilliers, JE, Kloke, KH & Joubert, J 2016, 'An active wideband reference target for the calibration of ground to air radar systems', Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, vol. 58, no. 5, pp. 1041-1044.0895-2477 (print)1098-2760 (online)10.1002/mop.29722http://hdl.handle.net/2263/52591The 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.en© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article : An active wideband reference target for the calibration of ground to air radar systems, Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, vol. 58, no.5, pp. 1041-1044, 2016. doi : 10.1002/mop.29722. The definite version is available at : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.comjournal/10.1002/(ISSN)1098-2760.Airborne calibration targetWideband calibration targetRadar cross section (RCS)Active radar calibration (ARC)Postprint Article