UNSY 605, Assignment 1.5, Blog Setup and First Post

Source:  McCaney, K.  (2014, Spetember 2).  Army to put high-quality radar into smaller drones.  Defense Systems.  Retrieved from https://defensesystems.com/articles/2014/09/02/army-synthetic-aperture-radar-small-uavs.aspx

            Synthetic aperture radars (SAR) provide a highly capable sensor for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.  Integration of these sensors into unmanned aerial systems (UAS) produce a significant improvement in the quality of data returned from these ISR platforms.  As the size and weight of SAR suites continues to decrease, a wider range of UAS will be capable of fielding these sensors.

            SAR utilize complex digital processing of radar signals to create high resolution images of objects of interest.  These radar suites have imaged structural elements of terrain and the spread of oil spill accidents.  Military application of SAR technology has included detection of enemy vehicles/personnel and battlefield terrain.  The resolution of SAR have proven capable of detecting improvised explosive devices (IED) concealed at an ambush site.  An advantage that the radar sets feature over visual sensors is the ability to provide imagery across a greater range of weather conditions.  Weather phenomena, such as clouds or precipitation, which would obscure a TV camera’s view can be penetrated by a SAR.

            The advancement in electronic technology has enabled the reduction in size and weight of SAR sets.  Radar sets can be mounted on tactical UAS such as the Textron Systems RQ-7 Shadow.  One application featured two SAR suites mounted to a RQ-7 carrying small-scale munitions.  The radars were used to detect IEDs which were then destroyed by the Shadow’s onboard weapons.  The ability to defeat IED attacks against friendly ground forces is a significant force multiplier and protection capability.  As SAR suites continue to decrease in size and weight, we can expect a proliferation of the technology as radar sets are mounted on increasingly smaller-sized UAS.  The high resolution imagery and all weather capabilities will become increasingly available to the lower levels of military organizations closer to the front lines. 

            As SAR suites are mounted on increasingly smaller UAS and in greater quantities, these sensors and platforms will be fielded in closer proximity to the supported customers.  The applications will extend beyond the military uses described in this article.  Scientific research is another of the fields that will benefit from the developments in SAR.  The capability to operate unmanned systems in areas previously inaccessible to larger platforms will benefit scientific expeditions.