Technical challenges in ultra-wideband radar development for target detection and terrain mapping

This paper describes two ultra-wideband synthetic radars (SAR) currently being developed. One, the Foliage Penetration Advanced Technology Demonstration, will be installed on an Army C-12 and eventually the Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. It is designed to detect stationary military vehicles, which are camouflaged or hidden in forests and tree-lines. It employs a VHF SAR for screening and a UHF SAR for rejection of false-alarms. The second is an interferometric SAR for topographic terrain mapping. It operates on a business jet simultaneously with an X-band SAR. Together the two obtain high-quality imagery and terrain height of the ground even under foliage. The paper describes the phenomenology of foliage penetration, ultra-wideband SAR, and the different design issues associated with target detection and terrain mapping.