Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (ranging), angle, or velocity of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. A radar system consists of a transmitter producing electromagnetic waves in the radio or microwaves domain, a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna and a receiver and processor to determine properties of the object(s). Radio waves from the transmitter reflect off the object and return to the receiver, giving information about the object's location and speed.
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether communications between people or from electronic signals not directly used in communication. Signals intelligence is a subset of intelligence collection management. As classified and sensitive information is usually encrypted, signals intelligence in turn involves the use of cryptanalysis to decipher the messages. Traffic analysis—the study of who is signaling whom and in what quantity—is also used to integrate information again.
Measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) is a technical branch of intelligence gathering, which serves to detect, track, identify or describe the distinctive characteristics (signatures) of fixed or dynamic target sources. This often includes radar intelligence, acoustic intelligence, nuclear intelligence, and chemical and biological intelligence. MASINT is defined as scientific and technical intelligence derived from the analysis of data obtained from sensing instruments for the purpose of identifying any distinctive features associated with the source, emitter or sender, to facilitate the latter's measurement and identification.
An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled array antenna in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the antenna. In the AESA, each antenna element is connected to a small solid-state transmit/receive module (TRM) under the control of a computer, which performs the functions of a transmitter and/or receiver for the antenna. This contrasts with a passive electronically scanned array (PESA), in which all the antenna elements are connected to a single transmitter and/or receiver through phase shifters under the control of the computer. AESA's main use is in radar, and these are known as active phased array radar (APAR).
The Kolchuga passive sensor is an electronic-warfare support measures system developed in the Soviet Union and manufactured in Ukraine. Its detection range is limited by line-of-sight but may be up to 800 km (500 mi) for very high altitude, very powerful emitters. Frequently referred to as Kolchuga Radar, the system is not really a radar, but an ESM system comprising three or four receivers, deployed tens of kilometres apart, which detect and track aircraft by triangulation and multilateration of their RF emissions.
The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. GTRI employs around 2,400 people, and is involved in approximately $600 million in research annually for more than 200 clients in industry and government.
The Electronic Systems Laboratory (ELSYS) is one of eight labs in the Georgia Tech Research Institute and one of three labs under the Electronics, Optics, and Systems directorate. Among its research focuses are systems engineering, electronic warfare, and human systems integration.
The Aerospace, Transportation and Advanced Systems Laboratory (ATAS) is one of eight labs in the Georgia Tech Research Institute and one of three labs under the Sensors and Intelligent Systems directorate. ATAS develops advanced systems concepts and performs research related to aerospace systems, power and energy systems, threat systems, intelligent autonomous systems, and systems engineering methodologies. The lab also develops advanced technologies and performs research in a range of areas relevant to aerospace and ground transportation as well as to national defense.
The Advanced Concepts Laboratory (ACL), formerly the Signature Technology Laboratory, is one of eight labs in the Georgia Tech Research Institute and one of three labs under the Sensors and Intelligent Systems directorate. ACL conducts research and development in four technical areas: electromagnetic materials and structures, electromagnetic apertures and scattering, optical and infrared physics and phenomenology, and secure information systems.
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division is the principal tenant command located at Naval Support Activity Crane. NSA Crane is a United States Navy installation located approximately 35 miles southwest of Bloomington, Indiana, and predominantly located in Martin County, but small parts also extend into Greene and Lawrence counties. It was originally established in 1941 under the Bureau of Ordnance as the Naval Ammunition Depot for production, testing, and storage of ordnance under the first supplemental Defense Appropriation Act. The base is named after William M. Crane. The base is the third largest naval installation in the world by geographic area and employs approximately 3,300 people. The closest community is the small town of Crane, which lies adjacent to the northwest corner of the facility.
ELTA Systems Ltd (ELTA) is an Israeli provider of defense products and services specializing in radar, ELINT, COMINT, C4ISTAR, Electronic Warfare, Communication, Autonomous Ground Systems, Intelligence and Cyber products.
Radiofrequency MASINT is one of the six major disciplines generally accepted to make up the field of Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT), with due regard that the MASINT subdisciplines may overlap, and MASINT, in turn, is complementary to more traditional intelligence collection and analysis disciplines such as SIGINT and IMINT. MASINT encompasses intelligence gathering activities that bring together disparate elements that do not fit within the definitions of Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), Imagery Intelligence (IMINT), or Human Intelligence (HUMINT).
Radar MASINT is a subdiscipline of measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) and refers to intelligence gathering activities that bring together disparate elements that do not fit within the definitions of signals intelligence (SIGINT), imagery intelligence (IMINT), or human intelligence (HUMINT).
Electro-optical MASINT is a subdiscipline of Measurement and Signature Intelligence, (MASINT) and refers to intelligence gathering activities which bring together disparate elements that do not fit within the definitions of Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), Imagery Intelligence (IMINT), or Human Intelligence (HUMINT).
The Advanced Radar Research Center (ARRC) is the largest academic radar program in the United States. The ARRC’s mission is to enhance safety, security, environmental quality, and economic prosperity through interdisciplinary research and the development of innovative radar solutions to a wide range of societal challenges. The ARRC has always focused on developing cutting-edge radar technology for scientific discovery and has now expanded into many more applications of radar and applied electromagnetics. The ARRC was established in 2005 at the University of Oklahoma (OU) and is located at the Radar Innovation Lab (RIL)
Microwave engineering pertains to the study and design of microwave circuits, components, and systems. Fundamental principles are applied to analysis, design and measurement techniques in this field. The short wavelengths involved distinguish this discipline from electronic engineering. This is because there are different interactions with circuits, transmissions and propagation characteristics at microwave frequencies.
William L. "Bill" Melvin is the deputy director of Sensors and Intelligent Systems at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. He is a former director of the GTRI Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory (SEAL).
Rickey Bryan Cotton was a researcher in electromagnetism and radar-related fields at the Georgia Tech Research Institute's Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory from 1980 until 2007.
One way of outlining the subject of radio science is listing the topics associated with it by authoritative bodies.
The railSAR, also known as the ultra-wideband Foliage Penetration Synthetic Aperture Radar, is a rail-guided, low-frequency impulse radar system that can detect and discern target objects hidden behind foliage. It was designed and developed by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in the early 1990s in order to demonstrate the capabilities of an airborne SAR for foliage and ground penetration. However, since conducting accurate, repeatable measurements on an airborne platform was both challenging and expensive, the railSAR was built on the rooftop of a four-story building within the Army Research Laboratory compound along a 104-meter laser-leveled track.
