DIMDEX 2024: Iran reveals details of airborne synthetic aperture radar

The airborne SAR was displayed on the Iranian stand labelled as both the S-811 and the larger S-813. (Janes/Ajay Shankar Pandey)

Iran displayed a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that it has developed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the DIMDEX 2024 show held in Doha from 4 to 6 March.

The SAR has a monopulse flat-plate slotted-array antenna and was labelled as both the S-811 and S-813, with Iranian officials refusing to identify which one it was.

An Arabic-language brochure provided details of both types, saying they can provide high-resolution images at long ranges in all light and weather conditions. It also claimed they have ground moving target indicator (GMTI) and micro-motion target indication (MMTI) modes.

Weighing 40 kg and drawing 500 W of power, the S-811 is the smaller one and was said to have a maximum detection range of 40 km, a resolution of 1 or 2 m, and a swath width of 1–5 km.

The S-813 weighs 70 kg, draws 700 W, and has a detection range of 150 km, a resolution of 1, 2, or 3 m, and a swath width of 1–10 km. Unlike the S-811, it has an inverse SAR mode.