According to some embodiments, a system is provided for simulating a cluster of reflections. The system includes an array of antenna elements distributed in space over a solid angle having an angular spread. The solid angle is substantially less than a full sphere and each antenna element has a spatial orientation. The system also includes a spatial environment simulator connected to the antenna elements and configured to apply one of excitations to the antenna elements and weights to signals from the antenna elements. The combination of the spatial distribution of the antenna elements, the orientation of the antenna elements, and the weighting applied by the variable path simulator simulates a near field arising from a cluster of reflections of a multipath environment.