Boeing flies world's smallest synthetic aperture radar on ScanEagle

Boeing announced today that they have successfully flown the world's smallest SAR aboard one of its ScanEagle mini-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The NanoSAR weighs in at only 2 pounds and is roughly the size of a shoebox. The first flight apparently took place back on the 7th of January, however, Boeing is just now releasing the results. The ScanEagle was able to take ground imagery with the NanoSAR which was then recreated on the ground. Boeing's next step is to collect and view the imagery in real-time while the ScanEagle is in flight.

This is a huge step for the tiny UAV as it's only previous payload included electro-optical and infrared sensors. The NanoSAR will now give users the ability to see through clouds, fog, haze, and rain. These were killers for ScanEagle in the past with its EO/IR sensors, but now should pose no problem for battlefield tacticians. Take that, Killer Bee.