Boeing [BA], in partnership with ImSAR and Insitu Inc., achieved a major milestone in May with the real-time processing of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data aboard a ScanEagle unmanned aircraft equipped with a standard inertially stabilized electro-optical (EO) camera, according to Boeing.
Combining the radar and the camera on the ScanEagle helps warfighters adapt to conditions with poor visibility, the company said. The tests marked the first time SAR and EO capabilities have flown together on such a small, lightweight platform, Boeing added.
During test flights on May 28, ScanEagle, outfitted with ImSAR’s NanoSAR, flew over a variety of targets as real-time SAR processing was demonstrated with streaming radar images displayed on the ground station. Creating real-time images onboard ScanEagle eliminates the requirement of either processing imagery on the ground after flight or using high-speed data links to a ground station, Boeing said.
“This capability builds on our previous flight tests with the NanoSAR payload,” Carol Wilke, Boeing ScanEagle chief engineer said. “With real-time streaming SAR imagery now available in the ScanEagle ground station, we can provide additional tactical, actionable intelligence to the warfighter.
The weights of standard SARs range from 50 to 200 pounds, but NanoSAR weighs 2 pounds and is the size of a shoebox. NanoSAR’s image processor is fully integrated and self- contained, making synthetic aperture radar’s ability to “see” in poor-visibility situations viable on small unmanned aerial vehicles for the first time, Boeing said.
ScanEagle, a joint effort of Boeing Advanced Systems’ Advanced Precision Engagement & Mobility Systems and Insitu, was developed as a low-cost, long-endurance autonomous unmanned aircraft to provide persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance as well as flexible, rapid deployment for a variety of government and civilian applications, according to Boeing.