Whenever a coherent electromagnetic field illuminates a natural surface, it is affected by fading, and this is related to the surface roughness. A model of the electromagnetic interaction with the rough surface allows the determination of some of its parameters; accordingly, the characteristics of the radar echo return are of great relevance. In this paper we consider a Kirchhoff-fractal electromagnetic model which is applicable to the problems of remote sensing, and we systematically and parametrically analyze the first-order fading characteristics. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996