This paper presents a comprehensive study on monopulse secondary surveillance radar (MSSR) coverage. The design and radiation pattern of an improved MSSR antenna is presented herein, highlighting the horizontal and vertical factors of the SUM beam. Moreover, the impact of other determinant factors, such as signal reflection and atmospheric refraction, on the radar coverage were assessed in this work. Real positioning measurement data and coverage simulations were used to support and exemplify theoretical findings.

This article brings clarifications regarding the implementation of a Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (MSSR) antenna. The calculations focus on SUM beam patterns in the radar-aircraft dialogue. The novelty is the determination, by calculation, of the vertical SUM beam pattern. For the chosen antenna design, the same working algorithm can be applied to determine the CONTROL and DIFFERENCE beam patterns.

This paper aims to present the impact of multipath interference on the monopulse secondary radar (MSSR) performance. The theoretical aspects of horizontal and vertical reflectors are presented along with the lobing phenomenon occurring in case of full and partial wave reflection. Real MSSR positioning data is also presented to exemplify the effect of reflections on aircraft positioning.

This paper presents the impact of the environment on target detection in monopulse secondary surveillance radar (MSSR) systems. The concrete case of electromagnetic (EM) signal propagation in the aircraft MSSR aircraft (AVO) dialogue is studied, highlighting the positioning anomalies that can occur when the signal path is obstructed by a line of trees. Real MSSR positioning data is presented to exemplify the resulting positioning errors.