Current status of DLR’s new F-SAR sensor

Abstract:
The Microwaves and Radar Institute of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is known for its consistent work on the field of airborne synthetic aperture radar and its application. Currently, the institute is developing a new advanced airborne SAR system, the F-SAR, which is planned to fully replace the older E-SAR system in the next years. The development of F-SAR was triggered by the demand for data being simultaneously acquired at different wavelengths and polarisations as well as by the demand for very high range resolution, which could not anymore be fulfilled in all cases by the E-SAR. Currently, even though the system is still under heavy development, parts of the instrument are reaching a pre-operational stage. This paper should give an overview over the current status and performance of the system, including results from various flight campaigns during the last couple of months. In particular, this paper focuses on the newly integrated realtime processing unit for SAR and GMTI modes and F-SAR’s real-time down-link capabilities over a laser transmission line. Additionally, new results of X-band step-frequency mode with 750MHz chirp bandwidth will be shown.