Operationalizing New Radar Technology Developed by Industry

Radar systems, associated information technologies, and data applications represent cornerstone technologies of the weather enterprise with a significant Industry collaborative element. Large-scale operational development and rapid deployment of innovative radar related technologies often relies on Industry R&D in close collaboration with customers and end users. Examples of radar system related technologies receiving Industry R&D attention include: Actively Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) antennas, improved electronics/signal processing, Agile software development, cloud computing, AI/ML, as well as weather information system processing, applications and data display integration. However, Industry also faces challenges in transitioning research across the “valley of death” to the operations community not encountered by Government or Academic research institutions. Here we provide examples of industry related radar system R&D successfully transitioned to operations as well as highlight Industry's R&D to Operations challenges and opportunities for the community.