FTLs SharpScan is an innovative, improved-angular-resolution, COTS-based magnetron radar that is modified to be coherent-on-receive, providing access to emerging coherent-radar processing approaches for increased resolution and Doppler shift extraction. Coherent radar processing is an enabling technology that provides higher signal to noise ratio (SNR), reduces target uncertainty, and allows for the Doppler effect to be used to reduce the influence of static clutter and provide more information on each target than that can be gained without coherent returns. Utilizing Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology to perform high speed sampling and apply cutting edge digital signal processing techniques, SharpScan not only provides real time radar imaging at high resolution but also provides relative velocity as an additional degree of freedom that can prevent tracking software confusion and aid in buoy discrimination. SharpScan enables the Navy to use small, low-cost Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) marine radars to achieve the needed long range and high output power radar imaging for at sea navigation, but with the higher resolutions achieved in larger, more expensive radar systems. The SharpScan technology can be directly retrofitted to the presently fielded submarine navigation radar and any other magnetron-based radar system for dramatic imaging and target indication improvements, making SharpScan a high value proposition with low incremental cost.
Benefit: Through FTLs novel modifications of a COTS magnetron based marine radar to achieve coherent radar receives in an inherently non-coherent system, the Navy has the ability to upgrade existing fielded systems to gain higher resolution radar imaging over the system being used today and doppler information on targets without high redesign costs and introducing much system risk. FTLs primary plan for commercializing SharpScan is to license the technology to a company that can integrate the system onto these submarine platforms. Since FTL has partnered with system integrator, L3Harris KEO, and radar manufacturer, Raymarine, from day one, the SharpScan technology is especially well positioned to move from the lab to the fleet with a smoother than average transition. The architecture of the SharpScan system is also designed to be easily upgraded through the Navys Tech Insertion (TI)/Advanced Processor Build (APB) method of rolling out system upgrades due to its modular design. The outboard radar pod will contain only the hardware modifications needed to the COTS radar to allow for coherent data collection. Once this hardware is qualified, it is not expected to need upgrades. All of the heavy processing of the coherent radar data will be performed inboard on a server, allowing easy software upgrades since the outboard radar pod will not need to be modified when updated software is available. Incremental software updates can keep further improving resolution and features, such as moving target indication, over many APBs without full system requalification, providing continual, low risk, improvements of the system of many years.
Keywords: Doppler Beam Sharpening, COTS marine radar, Collison Avoidance, Doppler Processing, FPGA, buoy discrimination, coherent on receive, SharpScan
