SRC Inc., recently said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued the company a patent for the “Interleaved Beam Coherent Radar Apparatus and Processing Method,” an advanced radar scanning and processing technique.
The new technique improves a radars ability to detect very slow moving targets, such as small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), watercraft or personnel, with a very high scan rate.
“SRC’s niche is developing innovative radar technology,” said Paul Tremont, president of SRC, in a statement. “This patent is further evidence that we continue to advance radar technology to address challenges for our customers.”
Daniel Culkin, director of business development for advanced radar programs, is the inventor for this patent. He developed the technique under SRC’s internal research and development program.
The invention leverages modern electronically scanned antenna technology to precisely coordinate the manner in which a radar scans and processes the reflected radar waves in a complex manner that improves the Doppler capability of the radar while maintaining a very high scan rate. This allows the radar to see small, slow moving targets that may otherwise be obscured by ground reflections.
This innovative approach enables important applications in both military and commercial radar systems, the company statement said.