Democratizing Air-to-Air Radars: Sense and Avoid and Airborne Counter UAS

Radars for sense and avoid are gaining a lot of interest, especially with the proliferation of Unmanned Aerial Systems. There is currently confusion in the SAA domain, especially in the research community. This high-level lecture will provide a basic understanding of the purpose of SAA, its definition used in the Air Force and Navy, the main FAA and RTCA standards, its similarities and differences w.r.t. air-to-air radars, its connection to ACAS-Xu and other SAA standards, the main challenges (clutter, zero-doppler targets, ground targets, low altitude), and where the key R&D is evolving in the next 5-10 years. A brief mention of airborne Counter-UAS is offered if the audience is interested. This lecture can be offered both virtually and in-person.