Low-SWaP, Modular, Multi-band Prototype Radar

The US Air Force is looking for a low-Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP), modular, multiband radar solution. As IMSAR understands the problem, the customer currently operates large radars that are attached to towers at a military testing facility and are used to collect Radar Cross Section (RCS) data from various targets to test seeker capabilities. The testing requires switching the radars to different frequency bands periodically. When a change in a radar’s frequency band is needed, a tower elevator or crane must be used to lower the radar and make the change. This is a time-consuming and cumbersome process.  In order to make the changing of the frequency bands quicker and easier, the USAF customer is requesting a radar solution that is in a much smaller form factor than the current system. For Phase I, IMSAR proposed using a low-SWaP radar that would allow for more flexible RCS data collection. For example, the radar could be used on a cable-suspended skyline system, on small manned or unnamed aircraft, and even on a mobile crane.  IMSAR’s proposed radar uses a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Radio Frequency System On a Chip (RFSoC)-based circuit board along with custom band converters in a 3U VPX chassis. The 3U VPX chassis keeps the form factor small, while maintaining modularity and commonality. The proposed solution leverages IMSAR’s  years of experience with multiband converters, low-SWaP packaging, and data bandwidth reduction. IMSAR has developed a mature Application Programming Interface (API) with defined standard parameters, which enables operators to easily control the multi-band radar.