Spaceborne to UAV Bistatic Radar System for High-resolution Imaging and Autonomous Navigation

Abstract

Bistatic radars offer several advantages when compared to their monostatic counterparts. In addition to increased per- formance, sensitivity, coverage and revisit times, all of them parameters which are mainly dependent on their spatial configuration, bistatic radars offer the objective advantage of being more robust to jamming, since the receiver operates as a mere passive system. The proposed system consists of a spaceborne radar transmitter illuminating an area of interest and one or several radar receivers mounted on a UAV to perform a two-goal mission: a) help autonomous navigation of the UAV by performing the sense and avoid function, and b) perform surveillance of the overflown area using high-resolution remote sensing techniques. Although the requirements for these significantly different tasks might seem distant, having a spaceborne transmitter ensures that the coverage needed for both purposes is achievable. The system can provide a cheap and robust manner for enabling global UAV flight, while enabling continuous all-weather imaging capabilities.