VHF downlink communication system for SLAR data

Abstract

This paper describes a real-time VHF downlink communication system for transmitting side-looking airborne-radar (SLAR) data directly from an aircraft to a portable ground/shipboard receiving station. Use of this receiving station aboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Mackinaw for generating real-time photographic quality radar images will be discussed. The system was developed and demonstrated in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA National Weather Service as part of the Project Icewarn all-weather ice information system for the Great Lakes Winter Navigation Program.