Reactive loading of arbitrarily illuminated cylinders to minimize microwave backscatter

In thi s pape r a s tudy of the min imi za tion of th e radar cross sec tion of a thi n cyLind e r by ce ntral loading is prese nt ed. The ind uce d c urre nt on a ce nt e rload ed cylind e r illuminated by a p lane wave a t a n arbitrary a ngle is d etermin ed. T he bac ksca tt e re d fi eld is cal c ulated and the opt imum loadi ng to achieve ze ro broad s id e backscattering is obtained. An o pt imum impe dan ce load ed at th e ce nt er of a res onant cylind er ca n redu ce it s rada r c ross sec t io n more than 30 dB fo r a ny as pec t angle. F or an antiresonant cy lind er a n op timum ce ntra l loa din g ca n m inimi ze th e ra da r c ross sec ti o n in the broads id e direction but it ca nn o t modify a pprec iab ly th e radar c ross sec ti on in th e off broads ide d irec ti o n. Th e e ffec ti ve ness a nd th e fca s ibilit yof th e lo adin g tec hniqu e for th e reduc tio n o rth e radar c ross sec ti on of a metalli c body is discu ssed.