Textron, IMSAR-led team demo synthetic aperture radar equipped on the Aerosonde UAS
NewsFebruary 22, 2019
HUNT VALLEY, Md. IMSAR and Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. business unit, team up to to integrate and demonstrate the IMSAR?s NSP-3 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system on Textron Systems? Aerosonde small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS)
Textron Systems and IMSAR engineers performed the mechanical integration of the NSP-3 radar system into the Aerosonde aircraft, with radar electronics in the fuselage payload bay and an externally mounted antenna pod. Software integration included the ability to send radar flight plans directly to the Aerosonde operator.
During multiple flights, the fully integrated system demonstrated day-and-night operations, collecting high-resolution SAR, Coherent Change Detection (CCD) imagery and Moving Target Indication (MTI) detections and tracks. The demonstration included precise cross-cueing of the Aerosonde platform’s full-motion video system from MTI targets that were detected and tracked by the radar system, highlighting the NSP-3 radar system as a sensor and platform multiplier.
The combination of the expeditionary Aerosonde platform with the NSP-3 radar system enables advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities in a variety of austere locations and extreme weather conditions.
