HISAR(TM) COTS-based synthetic aperture radar

Commercial products and practices offer the potential of reduced costs, lower risk and faster technology insertion opportunities. However, in the domain of high performance aircraft avionics, the potential for change is likely to be limited without an in-depth comprehension of the military environment, its specifications/requirements, and the capability of commercial products to satisfy them. Hughes developed a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) using commercial components and practices based on designs initially made for the military market but this radar was not targeted for use in the U.S. Military. The first sale of this radar however, was made to the U.S. Military and they have now embraced it for their use. This paper describes how traditional military requirements were satisfied with extensive use of commercial technologies and practices.