Airport Runway Foreign Object Debris Detection System Based on Arc-Scanning SAR Technology

Due to the small size of foreign object debris (FOD) and varied complex weather conditions, the detection of FOD on airport runways is a great challenge. Radar is an important method for detecting FOD targets. However, almost all the existing systems are based on real apertures, which have disadvantages such as low azimuth resolution and susceptibility to rain interference. Here, an innovative FOD detection radar system based on arc-scanning synthetic aperture radar (AS-SAR) technology, the AS-SAR based FOD detection system (AS-FODR), achieves omnidirectional coverage with a very high azimuth resolution and the suppression of flicker clutter, such as rain drops in severe weather. According to the radar imaging simulation of a scene under rainy conditions and the information processing analysis of field experiments, a prototype system was built, and an efficient data process flow was proposed. In short, a one centimeter FOD target was detected on the runway more than 250 m away, proving that the use of AS-FODR is feasible and effective.