VHF/UHF bistatic and passive SAR ground imaging

Bistatic and passive radar are emerging technologies for covert ground surveillance based on cooperative or non-cooperative transmitters, respectively. The latter uses transmitters of opportunity, e.g. terrestrial digital video broadcasting (DVB-T). In the paper, we show results from two unique experiments conducted using airborne systems operating in the VHF and UHF bands. The first experiment investigates UHF-band passive synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in receive-only mode. DVB-T signals transmitted from a 300-m tall mast are used and SAR images are formed at ranges up to 15 km. The second experiment investigates VHF-band bistatic SAR with a transmitting airborne radar and a receive-only system on a small helicopter. Results show significantly higher signal-to-clutter ratio for man-made objects in forested areas at bistatic elevation angles of 20°.