Long-Range Maritime Battle Damage Assessment

RDRTec proposes to study the feasibility of applying an innovative combination of Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging approaches to develop a long-range, rapid response, maritime Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) System to provide actionable information after an engagement event occurs. Currently, the success of a strike is evaluated using visual inspection of high resolution short-range optical/IR imagery collected by aircraft operating in close proximity to the strike. The analysis is performed either by the pilot on-board or an analyst after the conclusion of the mission and is qualitative in nature and dependent on analyst expertise.  This approach provides limited performance in anti-aircraft/area denial situations where the airspace near the target is contested and EO/IR sensors cannot be used.  Damage assessment utilizing long-range radar modes promises to fill to this gap.  This program will determine the feasibility of using a combination of SAR/ISAR radar modes to image the scene from a safe distance before, during, and after impact and provide a quantitative and immediate assessment of the success of munition impact and the extent of damage to the vessel.  The approach being studied will build upon RDRTec's proven Maritime Classification Aid (MCA) and Coherent Airborne Detect and Discriminate (CADD) technologies.