LiTE SAR, Ku-band synthetic aperture radar for small unmanned air vehicles

A high resolution Ku-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) was recently flown on a hand-launched Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), demonstrating a breakthrough in resolution for small size, weight and power (SWaP). Ku-Band SAR systems are a useful tool in border patrol, agriculture, crops control, petroleum reserve, surveillance missions, particularly when combined with the Coherent Change Detection (CCD) capability of this system. A continuous-wave (CW) transmitter with near 100% duty factor and an innovative wave-form generator were utilized to minimize power consumption to 24 Watts DC while eliminating the need for high power Ku-Band amplifiers. The weight was trimmed by replacing the typical gimbaled narrow-beam antenna with broad-coverage horn antennas designed to accommodate the platform's roll, pitch, and yaw.