DARPA to brief industry on through-clouds radar with imaging capability to match infrared
ARLINGTON, Va., 27 Nov. 2012. Military radar experts at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., will brief industry in two weeks on an upcoming project to develop a new kind of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that can detect and track moving targets through clouds with the same ability that current infrared targeting systems have in clear weather.
DARPA has scheduled a proposers' day workshop for 10 Dec. 2012 for the upcoming Video Synthetic Aperture Radar (ViSAR) System Design and Development program. Briefings are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the DARPA Conference Center, Room 01-200, 675 N. Randolph St., in Arlington Va.
The ViSAR program (DARPA-BAA13-06) seeks to develop a new radar that can engage maneuvering targets through clouds, dust, and other obscurants, and provide the same targeting capabilities through clouds as current infrared targeting systems are able to provide in clear weather.
This program builds on previous ViSAR work under DARPA-BAA12-41 to develop flyable extremely high frequency (EHF) radar exciters and receivers, synthetic aperture radar scene simulation tools, and novel EHF radar-processing algorithms.
DARPA issued the first ViSAR solicitation last May, and awarded a potential $1.14 million contract earlier this month to the BAE Systems Electronic Systems segment in Merrimack, N.H.
BAE Systems engineers will develop an EHF video synthetic aperture radar able to provide high-resolution imagery at high frame rates while minimizing size weight and power (SWAP). From BAE Systems, DARPA officials are asking for revolutionary technological advances, not simply improvements to existing radar technology.
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The upcoming program will build on these efforts of BAE Systems, and will design a flyable EHF high-power amplifier that will provide sufficient radar power to image through clouds.
The ViSAR proposers' day will provide information on the ViSAR program, take questions from potential proposers, and encourage potential proposers to present their capabilities and form industry teams.
Those interested in attending should register no later than 4 p.m. this Friday, 30 Nov. 2012, online at www.solers.com/BAAinfo-reg/visar. Attendance is free, but limited to the first 100 who register. Non-U.S. citizens are not allowed.
Those attending who would like to give 10-minute presentations should contact DARPA's Eric McNett by phone at 703-526-2010, or by email at [email protected]. Also contact McNett for questions or concerns.
More information is online at https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/DARPA-SN-13-06/listing.html.
For additional information contact DARPA online at www.darpa.mil, or BAE Systems Electronic Systems at www.baesystems.com.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
