Studies looking at using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) to generate terrain elevation data in real time are being extended to demonstrate slow-moving ground target detection.
Lockheed Martin has received a $5.2 million contract from the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to provide flight-test data to demonstrate that InSAR can detect a variety of ground moving targets. InSAR technology is being developed under the Symbiotic Communications programme, a joint effort between AFRL and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
According to DARPA, the Symbiotic Communications programme is developing a passive, all-weather airborne sensor that can produce real-time, high-resolution SAR images and accurate terrain height maps, as well as characterise terrain and locate slow-moving targets.
Whereas SAR uses a single radar antenna and aircraft motion to generate two-dimensional ground images, InSAR uses two spatially separated antennas to resolve elevation data.
Source: Flight International