Research on Verification of Radar Tracking Performance Based on Flight Test via Aircraft

This paper presents a method for verifying the tracking performance of ground radars through flight tests using an aircraft as the target. The tracking performance metrics of a ground radar are typically represented by range and angular errors, which are caused by factors such as internal RF and signal processing delays, and beam steering and mechanical errors. These errors can be measured through aircraft-based flight tests, and correction values can be derived through tracking error analysis. As flight tests inherently reflect actual operational environments, they constitute an essential test method for deriving correction values based on tracking error analysis. In this study, a flight scenario design methodology is proposed based on the available flight area, radar deployment conditions, and aircraft performance constraints. Next, radar detection/tracking data are acquired according to the defined flight scenarios and compared with the reference data obtained from the DGPS-equipped test aircraft. By applying PTP-based correction and time synchronization to the analysis results, tracking error reductions of approximately 95 % in the range, 32 % in the azimuth, and 14 % in the elevation are achieved.