COTS SAR processing software

The signal processing computational throughput requirements of real-time airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems are extensive. In the past, the only way to fulfill the processing requirements was through the development of custom programmable signal processing systems. The programmable signal processor (PSP) development became a significant portion of the radar system development cost. In addition, these custom processors had their own unique programming syntax (typically an assembly language). Thousands of man-hours were invested in developing and debugging software that could not be re-used on other systems. The Department of Defense (DoD) budget constraints demand that new approaches be utilized that will contain the development costs of new systems and reduce development time. The use of high order language (HOL) software and, where practical, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) processing hardware is an approach that has been promoted by the DoD. This paper discusses the work being performed at Norden under an independent research and development (IR&D) program to replace the PSP in the AN/APG-76 radar system with a COTS based system and to recapture the software using an HOL.