In this paper we present an alternative approach to addressing the problem of designing cloaks for radar targets, which have been dealt with in the past by using the transformation optics (TO) algorithm. The present design utilizes realistic materials, which can be fabricated in the laboratory, and are wideband as well as relatively insensitive to polarization and incident angle of the incoming wave. The design strategy, presented herein, circumvents the need to use metamaterials for cloak designs that are inherently narrowband, dispersive and highly sensitive to polarization and incident angle. A new interpretation of the TO algorithm is presented and is employed for the design of radar cross section-reducing absorbers for arbitrary targets, and not just for canonical shapes, e.g., cylinders. The topic of performance enhancement of the absorbers by using graphene materials and embedded frequency structure surfaces is briefly mentioned. The design procedure for planar absorbing covers is presented and their performance as wrappers of general objects is discussed. A number of test cases are included as examples to illustrate the application of the proposed design methodology, which is a modification of the classical TO paradigm.