A model for the generation of reflectivity profiles is presented for use in a radar target recognition system. The data are assumed to come from two sensors: a high range resolution radar and a tracking radar. The object is simultaneously tracked and identified using estimation theoretic methods by comparing a sequence of received range profiles to range profiles generated from surface templates. The tracking data are used to form priors on the position and orientation of the object. The templates consist of surface descriptions comprised of electromagnetically large patches tiling the entire object. The predicted return is computed from several quantities. First, the reflectivity range profile is computed from the patches incorporating a shading function. The physical optics approximation is that patches not directly illuminated by the transmitted signal to not contribute to the return signal. Second, the reflected signal is approximated by the convolution of the transmitted signal with the range profile. Third, the receiver design yields the actual I-Q data available for processing.