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The Microwave Propagation Measurement System (MIPROMS) provides a major advancement in the U.S.Navy's ability to measure the propagation of microwave radar signals over the ocean, which is important for understanding the effects of propagation on anti-ship missile detection. The sketch at left shows the paths but neglects to show the curvature of the earth, which causes half of the paths to be below the horizon.
MIPROMS employs a transmit tower and a receive tower located up to 25 miles apart. Ten antennas on each tower provide 100 independent propagation paths. The system simultaneously measures propagation losses over all 100 paths simultaneously, while switching frequencies at a rate of four times per second. The selected frequencies can be anywhere between 2 and 18 GHz. The system is fully automated and can store data for weeks at a time while operating in an unattended mode.
MIPROMS also provides real-time and off-line displays of propagation path losses relative to free space versus height. The displays (shown at left) provide real-time plots of up to 10 vertical propagation profiles.
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