Microwave Photonics in Networked Staring Radar

Modern radar systems are capable of detecting small moving objects such as drones on the kilometer scale. The complex and evolving environment poses challenges such as interference, clutter induced phase noise and obstruction of targets. Networked radar systems are a potential solution but also bring their own challenges such as synchronization. In this paper, the effect of the oscillator on the networked radar is discussed and how microwave photonics are able to be integrated into the network for superior phase noise and synchronization performance.