SharpScan

Submarine navigation systems currently use small-aperture magnetron X-band radars due to their ability to image longer distances while occupying a much smaller footprint. Though magnetrons are powerful and space saving, they inherently transmit incoherent radiation, making high resolution imaging challenging.

FTL’s SharpScan is an improved-angular-resolution magnetron-based radar that is coherent-on-receive through the implementation of very high speed data acquisition and new Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based beam-sharpening. SharpScan’s coherent radar processing is an enabling technology that provides higher Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), reduces target uncertainty, and allows for advanced DSP techniques like beam sharpening and Moving Target Indication (MTI) to reduce the influence of static clutter and provide more information on each target compared to incoherent returns. SharpScan achieves more than twice the image sharpening capabilities over what Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) magnetron marine radars on the market today can achieve, while still fitting in the small footprint required on submarines and maintaining the superior output power and range associated with magnetron systems.