Patent ID: 7265713

Claim:
An electronically scanned array radar system. comprising: a controller with a memory; a set of parameters identifying an operating condition under which undesirable grating lobes will form, the list of parameters being stored in memory; an array of radiative elements having an array height, with a plurality of separate subarrays of said radiative elements, wherein the plurality of separate subarray comprises at least a first subarray and a second subarray, wherein said first subarray and said second subarray have subarray heights which are smaller than said array height, said first subarray is vertically non-overlapping with the second subarray, said first subarray partially horizontally overlaps the second subarray, and said radiative elements of said separate subarray are not shared with any other subarray; and a set of families of tapers associated with respective subarrays, at least a first taper of the family of tapers being different from a second taper of the family of tapers, each taper creating nulls in the far field response of their respective subarrays, the nulls being in the vicinity of grating lobes which form in the operating condition, the set of tapers being stored in the memory.