Leonardo has been selected by Safran Electronics & Defense to provide PicoSAR active electronically scanned array (AESA) (E-Scan) radars for the French Army's Patroller unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The PicoSAR will be used to detect moving land-based targets and collect imagery of the ground with the use of the sensor’s synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The radar is said to offer a high-performance over weight ratio and is able to produce SAR imagery in both ‘strip’ and ‘spot’ modes, as well as collecting ground moving target indication (GMTI) data.
The PicoSAR radars use low power, solid-state transmit receive modules (TRM) to provide superior all-weather SAR/GMTI capability for UAVs and fixed and rotary wing platforms.
The AESA technology allows the radar antenna to be resized to address specific platform constraints, Leonardo stated.
Under the multi-million Euro contract, Leonardo will supply radars and spares, which will be used for long-range surveillance missions.
The first radars are expected to be delivered later in 2017.
Leonardo said that it demonstrated the radar’s flexibility by flying it on more than ten different platforms.
The PicoSAR forms a part of Leonardo’s portfolio of airborne radars that include mechanically-scanning (M-Scan) and electronically scanning (E-scan) systems that are designed, manufactured and supported by Leonardo Airborne and Space Systems division.
Image: The PicoSAR will be used to detect moving land-based targets. Photo: courtesy of Leonardo – Società per azioni.
