Fifty years of bistatic and multistatic radar

Abstract

The article begins with a review of the history of bistatic and multistatic radars, including the simultaneous introduction of radar technology in several countries during the 1930s and the various areas of technology development pursued by those countries. Technical descriptions are presented of nine different experimental systems. The article continues with a discussion of the potential military and nonmilitary advantages of bistatic radars compared with monostatic radars in special applications, including increased coverage, increased radar cross-section, avoidance of attack by antiradiation homing missiles, reduction in probability of intercept by electronic intelligence and direction-finding equipment, and elimination of interference caused by retrodirective jamming. The article concludes with an outline of several suggestions for future applications of bistatic and multistatic systems.