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Title: Design and implementation of a Synthetic Aperture Radar for Open Skies (SAROS) aboard a C-135 aircraft

Conference ·
OSTI ID:10169865
;  [1];  [2]
  1. Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  2. Loral Defense Systems, Litchfield, AZ (United States)

NATO and former Warsaw Pact nations have agreed to allow overflights of their countries in the interest of easing world tension. The United States has decided to implement two C-135 aircraft with a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that has a 3-meter resolution. This work is being sponsored by the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) and will be operational in Fall 1995. Since the SAR equipment must be exportable to foreign nations, a 20-year-old UPD-8 analog SAR system was selected as the front-end and refurbished for this application by Loral Defense Systems. Data processing is being upgraded to a currently exportable digital design by Sandia National Laboratories. Amplitude and phase histories will be collected during these overflights and digitized on VHS cassettes. Ground stations will use reduction algorithms to process the data and convert it to magnitude-detected images for member nations. System Planning Corporation is presently developing a portable ground station for use on the demonstration flights. Aircraft integration into the C-135 aircraft is being done by the Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Department of Defense, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
OSTI ID:
10169865
Report Number(s):
SAND-94-1895C; CONF-9410160-1; ON: DE94015767; BR: GB0103012
Resource Relation:
Conference: Antenna Measurement Techniques Association symposium,Long Beach, CA (United States),3-7 Oct 1994; Other Information: PBD: [1994]
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English