3D Radar Multipath Ghost-Target Simulator

3D Radar Multipath

Target range 18.0 km

Target bearing 30°

Target altitude 2.0 km

Reflector range 12.0 km

Reflector bearing -40°

Reflector height 300 m

Radar sensitivity 0 dB

Real range/bearing

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Real altitude

–

Phantom range/bearing

–

Multipath status

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How it works

Range still comes from time-of-flight, R = c·t/2, and the reported direction from the angle the returning wavefront arrived from. Here the reflecting wall has a real, finite height: the bounce is only geometrically possible when the straight line from the radar to the target's mirror image (reflected across the wall's vertical plane) actually pierces the wall panel — below the wall's top edge and within its width. Drag the target higher than the wall and the phantom disappears; the multipath path only exists where the reflection geometry actually intersects solid material.

R = c·t / 2                            (time-of-flight range)
T' = mirror(target, wall plane)         (y unchanged — wall is vertical)
valid only if segment O→T' pierces the
   wall's finite rectangle: 0 ≤ y ≤ H, |lateral| ≤ W/2
R_phantom = |O → T'|,  θ_phantom = bearing(O → T')

Target range/bearing/altitude — the true 3D position of the real aircraft.
Reflector range/bearing — where the reflecting wall stands relative to the radar.
Reflector height — the wall's real vertical extent; too short and a high target's ray passes clean over the top, killing the ghost.
Radar sensitivity — detection threshold for the weaker, longer-path multipath return relative to the direct one.
Bent ray — toggle the traced radar → wall → target path against the straight line the radar actually reports.

Real-world relevance: this altitude-dependent cutoff is exactly why multipath ghosts cluster near ridgelines, city skylines and coastlines and why raising a target (or a radar's own antenna height) is a standard real fix for clutter-driven false tracks.

Radar site Real target Phantom ("UFO") Reflecting wall

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