Multi-input Multi-output Synthetic Aperture Radar with Collocated Antennas

The enormous effort devoted to the data acquisition, signal processing, and automatic recognition of stationary targets has resulted in a generation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems that are meeting the challenge of real-world conditions. However, in a practical battlefield, moving targets may pose a more severe threat than stationary targets. Many high value targets are only vulnerable while they are traveling and are generally invisible while in deep hide. Unfortunately, the attention paid to the ground moving target indication (GMTI) has been limited by the enormous challenges of acquiring and reliably processing the target location and target signatures. Multi-input multi-output (MIMO) radar is beginning to attract a significant amount of attention due to its potential of advancing the state-of-the-art of modern radar. Our Phase I effort established the feasibility of an implementable prototype system. The emphasis of this effort is focused on developing a prototype system based on a synergistic MIMO SAR and GMTI design. Herein we propose the design and demonstration of a proof-of-concept MIMO SAR system with collocated antennas for area surveillance, particularly to support urban operations with dynamic complex terrains and potentially moving small targets. The intended platforms are low-flying unmanned aerial vehicles.