We discuss plans for interferometric SAR multi-band ocean current measurements using a new synthetic aperture radar developed by the Naval Research laboratory under funding from the office of Naval Research, the Naval ultrawideband Synthetic Aperture Radar(NUWSAR). This new radar system has been developed for use on a light aircraft for use in the littoral zone and overland, where the long range capabiities of Naval platforms such as the P3 are not required, thus substantialy cutting flight costs. The system was developed with flexibility as a primary design objective, allowing for multichannel operations with selections of polarization, radar frequency, and interferometric(Cross and along track) antenna geometries. The intended range of operating frequencies extends from P to X-band, with nominal center frequencies chosen at or near 0.3, 1,3 and 10 GHz. For use on a light aircraft, a prime concern is platform motion compensation, particularly over water where application of autofocusing algorithms are not feasible due to the temporal development of the sea surface during image formation.
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