A millimeter-wave sensor development system for small airborne platforms

A truly multi-functional sensor suite is the key toward taking the next step in advancing small aircraft mission capabilities. Specifically, increased functionality to help these aircrafts operate safely and efficiently in the most demanding environments is desired. An ideal sensor development system platform that supports the development of a system that would satisfy all associated mission modes would need to offer the optimal combination of hardware and software reconfigurability, while minimizing size, weight, and power requirements and retaining a level of implementation simplicity that would naturally aid in the reduction of concept to deployment cycle time. A millimeter-wave development system is proposed in this work, demonstrating this capability through a tested implementation methodology. Results of initial phased developments related to real-beam imaging and mapping radar modes validate the performance and value of the system.