Bistatic and passive radar, annual report 2012

"Bistatic and Passive Radar" is a research project carried out by FOI during the period 2012-2014 with funding from the Swedish Armed Forces. This annual report describes activities and results during the first year of the project. Preparatory flight tests with the LORA system in passive mode have been conducted. Digital television broadcasting transmitters were used as non-cooperative illuminators for the measurements. Initial results show that the received signal has been registered within the linear dynamic range of the radar system which is a prerequisite for the follow-on analysis. Measurements with LORA in monostatic SAR and GMTI modes were also performed during the tests. An important activity has been to define and start the development of a radar system adapted for bistatic and passive measurements at VHF-, UHF- and S-band. The system is built around a digital control unit with integrated waveform generation and data storage as well as GPS-based time synchronization and positioning. The development continues next year with the goal of performing flight and field trials. The annual report also describes activities in the EDA project SIMCLAIRS2, which is carried out in collaboration with a European industry consortium including SAAB. Field tests of the prototype CARABAS-3 system installed in a helicopter have been conducted during the year. Example results are included in the report. The analysis will be documented in a separate report next year. The project has participated in the NATO group SET-186 "Airborne Passive Radar and their Applications". 2Studies for Integrated Multifunction Compact Lightweight Airborne Radars and Systems.