Lockheed Martin has flown a miniaturised synthetic-aperture radar (MiniSAR) on board its SkySpirit unmanned air vehicle during a Minnesota National Guard field exercise.
Developed by the US government's Lockheed-managed Sandia National Laboratories, and produced by Rockwell Collins, the MiniSAR can provide ground imaging regardless of smoke, dust, rain or lighting conditions.
Flying at 3,000ft (915m), the 82kg (180lb) SkySpirit transmitted 100mm (4in)-resolution SAR imagery to troops in near real time. In four demonstrations, the UAV transmitted images in two modes: focused area circle-mapping and broad area strip-mapping.
Source: Flight International
