Harris to lead space-based radar study

Harris Corp., a supplier of satellite communications systems, announced Jan. 29 that it has won a one-year, $2.5 million contract from a pair of Defense Department agencies for work on the Innovative Space-Based Radar Antenna Technology (ISAT) study.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Special Projects Office and the Air Force Research Lab's Sensors Directorate selected Harris to study the development of an advanced spaceborne antenna system.

The ISAT study was established with the goal of providing a solution for integrating space-based radar and a moving target indication from space.

Under terms of the contract, Harris will lead the effort to identify the probability of producing a lightweight, space-based, extremely large radar antenna designed to track moving targets on the ground, said Bob Henry, president of Harris Government Communications Systems Division.

Henry said the ISAT program "will provide innovative approaches for future U.S. Air Force initiatives," and that the DOD agencies' choice of Harris "demonstrates their confidence in our antenna technology and capability."