Challenges in Detecting UAS with Radar

The recent proliferation of drones has contributed to the emergence of new threats in security applications. Because of their great agility and small size, UAS can be used for numerous missions and are very challenging to detect. Radar technology with its all-weather capability can play an important role in detecting UAS-based threats and in protecting critical assets. However, to be successful, radars have to quickly scan large volumes with great sensitivity, eliminate nuisance alarms from birds and discriminate UAS from ground targets. Radar parameters, antenna scan techniques and target classification requirements for UAS detection are analyzed. A radar implementation is discussed and preliminary results presented. Overall, an X-band radar with electronic scanning capability can contribute to a reliable and affordable solution for detecting UAS-based threats.