Notional faceted-target RCS vs aspect — 0° = nose-on, clockwise

RCS pattern (dBsm) Selected sector
Type-along: single-number candidates by sector (dBsm)
SectorSamplesMaxMedianMean (linear)
Sector picker
Start azimuth330°
End azimuth30°
The arc runs clockwise Start→End, wrapping through 0°. Set Start = End for the full 360° sweep. Stats are computed live over the highlighted arc.
Max
—
brightest flash
Median
—
the floor you see
Mean (linear)
—
10·log₁₀(mean σ)
—
A search radar sweeping past sees the floor most of the time, so the median prices detection range (R ∝ σ1/4). The spikes are brief, real flashes — but hard to track on. Neither number is wrong; they answer different questions.

Detection exposure vs heading — top-down plan view (km)

Radar holds a track Safe (outside detection ring) Aircraft heading
Aircraft heading
Heading0°
Aspect a radar sees = bearing(aircraft→radar) − heading, wrapped 0–360°. Its detection range grows with σ1/4, so swinging a pattern spike onto a site blooms its ring; a low-RCS nose or tail shrinks it.
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Per-radar exposure
SiteAspectσ (dBsm)R_det (km)Range (km)
RCS is a pattern, not a number — so orientation is survivability. Each radar sees a different aspect, and Block 1's monostatic law Rdet ∝ σ1/4 turns that aspect into a detection range. Point your low-RCS nose or tail at the threat that matters and its ring collapses; let a spike swing onto it and the ring blooms over you.