ARTEMIS, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: A18-114

Description

Modern sensors in current weapon systems bring in complex, high-resolution data at high data rates which is sensitive to variations in the radar signatures from targets and background clutter. These systems need to be vetted against a variety of high-fidelity backgrounds and environments. There is a lack of mobile imaging systems that can make Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery and Radar Cross Section (RCS) measurements of potential threat environments. ARTEMIS, Inc. proposes to develop a miniaturized radar for use in this mobile signature collection capacity. Based on newly developed radar technology, the use of this system will reduce the time required to generate an RF characterization of a target, and reduce the cost as well. The system provides added flexibility in collecting from various geometries and in various backgrounds, especially when compared to airborne systems or fixed measurement sites. The proposed system natively provides capabilities at Ka-band, X-band, L-band, and UHF, and can be expanded in the future to S-band, C-band, Ku-band, and W-band. The Phase I effort consists of a trade study and system design. The details of system mounting, positioning, control, image formation, data acquisition and calibration are all be carefully designed to maximize the utility of the system.