Research and development on synthetic aperture radar system in China

This paper presents the R&D activities of synthetics aperture radar (SAR) systems. The Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IEAS) has engaged in this field since the end of 70s. It is not purely meant to be a testbed for testing new technologies and signal processing algorithms. In recent years, however, its airborne SAR (CASSAR) has advanced a main tool for microwave remote sensing application in China. In parallel, IEAS is responsible for the Chinese spaceborne SAR which is being developed as a key geomatics data source. This data will be used to provided better monitoring of the dynamic events occurring on the Earth's surface to scientists, and resource managers, improve maps, and aid in assessing the impact of certain types of natural disasters. A multi-frequency, multipolarization SAR programme will be considered.