Clutter is obtained by applying physical optics to a sea surface described
by a fractal model. This approach gives two interesting advantages. It is p
ossible to control sea, radar and geometry parameters so reproducing a real
istic scenario in which the clutter signal is generated. The main drawback
of the clutter stochastic models which generate statistical clutter-like ra
ndom sequences without directly accounting for the operating conditions in
which this clutter is expected, is overcome. Secondly, the fractal nature o
f the sea clutter is intrinsically taken into account through the fractal c
haracterisation of the sea surface. This aspect leads to a rigorous theoret
ical study on the fractal nature of the sea clutter and is also useful in n
ew remote sensing research concerning fractal analysis of clutter for class
ification and detection purposes. The clutter generator was finally validat
ed by statistical analysis of the output data. The results show a statistic
al behaviour comparable with that obtained from experimental data in the li
terature.