<title>History of SAR at Lockheed Martin (previously Goodyear Aerospace)</title>

Abstract

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) was invented by Carl Wiley at Goodyear Aircraft Company in Goodyear, Arizona, in 1951. From that time forward, as the company became Goodyear Aerospace Corporation, Loral Corporation, and finally Lockheed Martin Corporation, the Arizona employees past and present played a long and storied role in numerous SAR firsts. These include the original SAR patent (known as Simultaneous Doppler Buildup), the first demonstration SAR and flight test, the first operational SAR system, the first operational SAR data link, the first 5-foot resolution operational SAR system, the first 1-foot resolution SAR system, and the first large scale SAR digital processor. The company has installed and flown over five hundred SAR systems on more than thirty different types of aircraft for numerous countries throughout the world. The company designed and produced all of the evolving high performance SAR systems for the U. S. Air Force SR-71 “Blackbird” spy plane throughout its entire operational history, spanning some twenty-nine years. Recent SAR accomplishments include long-range standoff high performance SAR systems, smaller high resolution podded SAR systems for fighter aircraft, and foliage penetration (FOPEN) SAR. The company is currently developing the high performance SAR/MTI (Moving Target Indication) radar for the Army Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) system.