Robust, Light-Weight Bistatic Weather Radar

BCI will develop a Portable Bistatic Weather Radar (PBWR) which can be deployed by the US Air Force in forward operating areas with a minimal size, weight, and power (SWaP) footprint. This radar will provide adverse weather detection in the theater of operations with improved performance and reliability over the existing Portable Doppler Radar (PDR) solution currently used. The PBWR system will complement the existing Air Force PDR radar systems, demonstrating interoperability with existing communications networks, power sources and computing nodes and eliminating custom support equipment that must be carried into the field. Software-defined radar transceivers and processing/control nodes will allow for flexibility in the bistatic receivers under different operating conditions and software-driven system upgrades, as well as extensibility of the radar sensor for other future missions. The Phase II effort will develop a prototype bistatic radar system using a modified PDR system and the monostatic radar and a commercial hardware bistatic receiver and evaluate its performance against various weather conditions such as precipitation (rain and snow/ice) and clear air wind conditions. Feedback from operational users will be solicited to speed the transition from prototypes to Phase II production units.