Lesson 25 — RCS Physics#
Radar cross section is not a target's size — it is its effective echo area, a pattern that swings tens of decibels with aspect. Three factors set it, directivity buys the orders of magnitude, and the honest single planning number is the median, not the max.
Reading
RCS Physics
The dBsm ladder, the three-factor rule, canonical shapes, scattering regimes, and why the median prices detection range.
FlashcardsReview deck
Key terms and relations from the lesson, in a self-test deck.
Pre-flightPre-flight quiz
Five questions to work before class — anyone can be called to the board.
SlidesLesson slides
The deck we work through in class, as a PDF you can annotate.
DemoRCS Aspect Explorer
Sweep a sector across a real aspect pattern and watch the median hold while a single spike drags the linear mean skyward.