STAR Dynamics Corporation announced the release of its latest generation instrumentation radar, the BlueMax G7, which is now in production and available for order. The BlueMax G7 is a powerful, ultra-wideband (UWB), radar cross section (RCS) measurement and UWB imaging system designed to provide superior precision RCS metrology for indoor and outdoor test facilities. STAR is pleased with the performance leaps the G7 has obtained by leveraging customer feedback from the large installed base of the predecessor BlueMax G6 (40+ systems).

The BlueMax G7 offers much faster data collection speeds with higher pulse repetition frequencies and multiple frequency bands activated simultaneously. Additionally, this latest generation UWB instrumentation radar offers features such as simultaneous dual polarization transmit and receive, providing full scattering matrix target measurements on a single collection snapshot (i.e., coherent processing interval). Other features include higher radar sensitivity, lower noise floors, much wider instantaneous dynamic range, advanced built-in test and dynamic graphical user interface. Options are also available for on-the-fly self-calibration, real-time data processing and display, as well as an onboard, interactive test-range simulator for operator training, collection setup and optimization and data playback. 

The G7 was designed with reliability and maintainability in mind. The miniaturized design reduces RF connectors by 90 percent, while maintaining a modular LRU approach that increases its overall availability. This, combined with its commercial-off-the-shelf design, reduces the total cost of ownership over its lifetime. The significantly enhanced radar performance does not mean a larger physical footprint. The G7 radar comes in a package of less than one-half cubic foot volume for the core radar—a 50x size reduction from the G6—allowing it to be used in a much wider variety of implementations.