Synthetic Aperture Radar for Military Surveillance

The Multi-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (MB SAR) from Northrop Grumman has been used for counter-improvised explosives device (IED) support to ensure secure drawdown of the US armed forces in Iraq.

The company designed the radar and onboard processing system in collaboration with the Force's Aeronautical Systems Center of the US air force. It will encourage research and development, not only internally but also among small businesses financed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Naval Aviation Systems Command. The multiple bands will enable the armed forces to detect IEDs, capture images of targets within buildings or in thick undergrowth, besides facilitating survey of areas spread over wide acreage in every kind of weather condition at any time. It will relay all the information collected to the on-board sensing device to be transmitted to the aircraft to be passed on to troops located on the ground.

The radar has already been successfully incorporated by NRL in its Project Perseus on board a Navy NP-3D Orion aircraft, for missions under Task Force Observe, Detect, Identify and Neutralize.