Design & Consulting

Our senior engineering staff has many years of experience both designing and managing day-to-day operations of outdoor RCS ranges, including some of the most important static and dynamic range facilities in the U.S. Outdoor RCS ranges are described as static, with the target supported on a low-RCS pylon or column, or dynamic, with the target moving (e.g., flying) through the field of view of the range instrumentation.

In the 1980s, there was tremendous interest in adapting the compact range for radar cross-section measurements, but significant changes were required to make compact ranges suitable for taking RCS measurements of large targets.

Very large compact range reflectors were built to increase the quiet zone size and extend the lowest frequency of operation. At the same time, the edges of the reflector were redesigned to reduce the diffraction effects from the edge. When it was found that the anechoic material in the chamber was the limiting factor, The Howland Company was tasked with providing the overall electromagnetic design and improved designs for the anechoic material’s layout.

One intriguing problem has been how to test a stealth vehicle after manufacturing to ensure that it is indeed “stealthy.” An imaging system can operate in an echoic chamber (one without anechoic material) and provide data on the low observable characteristics of the vehicle. The Howland Company has provided design and engineering services for three different imaging systems, two for Lockheed-Martin and one for Boeing.