Low-frequency ultra-wideband synthetic aperture radar 1995 BoomSAR tests

The Army Research Laboratory has been investigating the potential of ultra-wideband synthetic aperture radar (UWB SAR) technology to detect and classify targets embedded in foliage or in the ground. The UWB foliage penetration (FOPEN) radar program has been extended to include the evaluation of ground penetration (GPEN) radar technology. ARL is investigating these problems by collecting high quality, precision data to support phenomenological investigations of electromagnetic wave propagation through dielectric media. Understanding the phenomenology of wave/target/clutter interactions supports the development of algorithms for automatic target recognition. The latest version of the radar developed by ARL is the UWB BoomSAR mounted on a 150-ft-high mobile boom lift. The BoomSAR is a mobile platform that can travel to various sites to collect target data in a variety of clutter scenarios. This paper provides a description of the boom radar system and imagery from data collections at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, and Yuma Proving Ground, AZ.