Trimode ladar/radar transponder systems for tracking long range cooperative targets

Detection and tracking of cooperative airborne targets are very important for military and also for civilian purposes. Previous research has shown that detection and tracking LASER offer high precision but their operation range is limited to less than 40 km even in good visibility propagation conditions. For long operation ranges, high power and bulky RADAR are required which can be significantly reduced by using active transponders on the cooperative target. A trimode LADAR/RADAR/Transponder system is investigated providing optimum performances. A L band Radar with active transponder is operated for all weather long ranges up to Low Earth Orbit satellites. The L mode is switched to a Mm wave mode RADAR for operation distances lower than 350 km and to an accurate LASER mode for the final tracking steps.