SBIR Programs

Since 1993, METRATEK has been an active and successful participant in the highly competitive Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. SBIR contracts provide Phase I funding of $60 - $100K for concept feasibility research and Phase II awards provide $500-$600K for demonstrating proof-of-concept.

As of January, 1998, METRATEK has transitioned four SBIR Phase I programs into Phase II efforts. Two of these programs were completed with delivery of a system to the government:

MIPROMS - Microwave Propagation Measurement System was delivered to the Naval Surface Weapons Center, Dahlgren, and is currently operational.

Model 300 Radar - This Model 300 radar was delivered in a 8-18 GHz version to the Chesapeake Test Range, Naval Air Warfare Center, Patuxent River, MD, and is currently operational and being used to measure aircraft, including the new version of the F-18.

As of February, 1998, METRATEK has two Phase II SBIR efforts in progress:

Radar for Ocean Characterization in the Littoral Zone - This program, sponsored by SPAWAR, is developing SurfSAR software and a processing station that will exploit Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (INSAR) data to provide rapid assessment of wave height and surf conditions in potential amphibious landing zones.

WINSAR - Wideband Interferometric SAR - This program, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, is using METRATEK's Model 200 radar as a baseline for developing a high performance wideband INSAR that will be flown on small aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

As of February, 1998, METRATEK has one Phase I SBIR effort in progress:

Processing & Control Station and Data Link for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - This program is developing methodology for, and assessing the feasibility of, offloading much of the radar electronics for a high performance airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar off an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and into a ground station. This greatly reduced the weight and cost of the UAV payload and provides a means for both inexpensive storage of large amounts of SAR data and near-real time processing of the SAR data.