Target radar reflector

DETAILED DESCRIPTION This invention has been arrived at by consideration of the above mentioned requirements and seeks to provide a radar reflector which provides effective reflection of signals received from any direction in a horizontal plane.
According to the invention there is provided a radar reflector comprising at least six corner reflectors directed outwardly of and disposed helically about a major axis of the reflector along two successive helical paths one of which paths is sinistrorse and the other of which paths is dextrorse.
The corner reflectors are preferably evenly distributed to cover the full 360.
degree.
of horizon.
In one advantageous form of the invention ten corner reflectors are employed.
A reflector in accordance with the invention may be formed from a strip of radar reflective sheet material folded in alternate directions along fold axes spaced apart on the strip and extending transversely across the strip with two consecutive ones of the fold axes disposed intermediately being substantially parallel and the remaining folds being alternately convergent and divergent in a direction from one edge to the opposite edge of the strip the folds dividing the strip into sections adjacent sections being disposed at right angles and a separator plate being provided between and at right angles to each pair of adjacent sections to form therewith two corner reflectors.
The separator plates may be rectangular but rectangular plates having one point cut off are to be preferred, the plate being positioned such that the edge where the point has been removed is remote from the adjacent sections.
This cut away avoids interaction with reflections from other ones of the corner reflectors.
The edge of the strip and/or the cut away point of the separator plates can be profiled such that they have an edge profile conforming to part of the internal surface of a cylindrical housing to permit slidable and secure location of the reflector within the housing.