Sisir Radar Private Ltd, a start-up in the space sector, has successfully conducted a test of its Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mounted on a drone, according to a senior company official.
The drone, equipped with SAR technology, was flown near Sonarpur, approximately 50 km from Kolkata. Tapan Misra, the Founding Director and Chief Scientist of SISIR Radar Private Ltd, formerly a Director at ISRO's Space Applications Centre, named the product 'Rabbit SAR' due to its rabbit ear-like antennas.
During the test, the SAR drone flew for a brief period at a height of 50 meters, although it can typically operate at a maximum height of 1.5 km. The battery-operated drone is designed to have a one-hour endurance capability.
The SAR system, weighing 14 kg and featuring six antennas, operates in either single polarization and interferometry mode or full polarimetric mode. The novel technology offers 1-meter resolution in the L band, which is unprecedented for this frequency range.
Misra emphasized that the SAR is India's first Software Defined Radar, with 90% of the SAR RF section implemented digitally using the Python language.
Sisir Radar completed its one-year anniversary since hiring its first employee on the same day as the test flight. The company, with a current headcount of 30, has acquired industrial land from the West Bengal Government at a discounted price and plans to construct a new facility by January, including a clean room.
The company aims to globally market and domestically deploy drone SAR technology, with future plans to develop a constellation of high-resolution L band SAR satellites to meet defense requirements and expand its global reach.
The drone-fitted SAR images hold significant potential for defense, mining, infrastructure, agriculture, and other sectors.
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