In the present study, the radiation issues related to the ultrasonic benchmark problems of year 2002 are explored by adopting two ultrasonic measurement models based on 1) the multi‐Gaussian beams and 2) the Rayleigh‐Sommerfeld integral with high frequency approximation, while keeping the choice of scattering model (the plane wave far‐field scattering amplitude estimated by the Kirchhoff approximation) unchanged. The insonifying beam fields and flaw signals calculated by two models showed very good agreement in most of the cases. However, they showed significant difference at the near‐critical angle (which is corresponding to the cases of refracted S‐waves with the refracted angle of 30°) due to the rapid variation in the transmission coefficient in that region. © 2003 American Institute of Physics