Group : Radar Systems
Status : Under Development
Also Known As : Multi-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
Origin : United States of America
Contractor : Northrop Grumman
Initial Operational Capability (IOC) : 2011
Total Production : ?

The Northrop Grumman Multi-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (MB SAR) is an airborne software-defined radar with real time onboard processing system utilizing multiple bands. The radar system is intended to locate Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), provide imaging under foliage and into buildings, and detect changes over a wide area in all weather conditions day or night. The information gathered by this sensor is provided directly to the troops on the ground. Northrop Grumman along with the support from the US Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Center developed the MB SAR radar incorporating technologies funded by DARPA and Naval Aviation Systems Command.

The Naval Research Laboratory under Project Perseus integrated the MB SAR aboard a US Navy NP-3D Orion aircraft. The resulting platform performed missions as a part of Task Force Observe, Detect, Identify and Neutralize in Iraq in early 2011. Because the system is software-defined and designed for extreme flexibility, the NP-3D's team was able to rapidly adapt to mission requirements as well as integrating, testing and calibrating the system in less than five weeks to effectively counter IEDs in Iraq.