Man-tracking Radar To Fight Afghan IEDs

Aviattion Week and Space Technology ^ | 1/17/2010 | Graham Warwick

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Northrop Grumman radar that can track individuals on foot over a wide area is to be deployed operationally by U.S. forces in Afghanistan to aid the fight against improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar (Vader) is a podded active electronically scanned array designed to be carried by unmanned aircraft and smaller manned surveillance platforms (Aerospace DAILY, Feb. 9). The Army recently completed evaluation testing of the radar installed on the centerline of a manned Twin Otter, following initial flights in 2009 on Northrop’s Islander test bed.

Vader is designed to help intercept teams planting IEDs by tracking individuals and vehicles, and its development is being supported by the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) after being initiated by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

One of two prototypes built under the demonstration program will be deployed overseas in the second or third quarter as the primary sensor on a Twin Otter surveillance aircraft, says Susan Bruce, director of irregular warfare in Northrop’s advanced concepts and technology division.

Vader has three modes: synthetic-aperture radar, ground moving-target indication and dismount moving-target indication. The radar can scan a wide area and cue narrower field-of-view sensors to provide full-motion video, she says. The system includes a ground station and uses the tactical common data link.

The Twin Otter was used as a surrogate for the Army’s MQ-1C Sky Warrior UAV for evaluation testing, but Bruce says the pod could be carried on a number of platforms, including the Air Force’s MQ-9 Reaper and the developmental A160T Hummingbird unmanned helicopter. Bruce says JIEDDO is looking at procuring more radars. “We’re pretty much there” with a production Vader, she says, as “85-95 percent” of the system hardware comes from other production programs.

[Yo-Yo]

Sounds like something that would be handy down on the Tex-Mex border.

[Myrddin]

Good to see something like this fielded. I've been working with another employee on a linear FMCW radar that is sensitive enough to observe the motion of a beating heart. You simply can't stand still enough to "hide".

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

I agree.