A Coherent FM-CW Radar for Continuous Geophysical Profiling Deployed on a Remotely Piloted Aircraft

QRC submits this proposal in response to SBIR A96-1 15 for A Coherent FM-CW Radar for Continuous Geophysical Profiling Deployed on a Remotely Piloted Aircraft. The current state of practice is to use ground and air frame mounted FM-CW Radar to obtain military and commercial related geophysical surveys, surveillance, and research efforts. These manned vehicle applications require significant capital investment and are expensive to operate and maintain, and are unsuitable for operations in at-risk environment. The proposed system consisting of a light weight FM-CW radar specifically designed for geophysical profiling from an RPV combined with a commercially available low cost Radio Controlled Helicopter (10 pound payload) overcomes the limitations listed above. The ability to rapidly evaluate the geophysical profiles (snow and ice) in remote areas with a FM-CW radar installed on an RPV would provide a tactical advantage to the battlefield commander in the development and execution of offensive plans and strategies. The same system can provide advantages in the commerce and operations other than war. A commercial benefit of this development would be to use this radar to determine when the thickness of the ice is adequate for a river crossing and the snow depth to determine the spring run off.