An Airborne Radar Sensor for Maritime and Ground Surveillance and Reconnaissance—Algorithmic Issues and Exemplary Results

The pod integrated variant of the airborne SmartRadar by AIRBUS Defence and Space, mounted under the wing of a Learjet 35 aircraft, is used as a testbed to develop advanced radar modes. In particular, it offers the capabilities of a multiphase-center active electronically steered array (AESA) antenna and of a flexible, wide-bandwidth radar core. During the last 2 years, the already-operated synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and ground moving target indication (GMTI) modes have been supplemented by newly developed maritime modes. This overview paper discusses the new maritime modes, presents recent results from our 2013/14 flight campaigns, and points out some interesting technological aspects with focus on algorithmic issues. In particular, maritime modes for open-sea surveillance, maritime MTI, and inverse SAR imaging of ships are discussed in detail. All of these radar modes make use of the instantaneous repointing capability of the fixed-mounted AESA antenna.