Because of the chronically foggy conditions over the Grand Banks, IIP relies almost exclusively on radar aboard USCG HC-130H aircraft for iceberg reconnaissance. Therefore, to avoid the smaller geographic coverage of a FLAR only equipped aircraft, the two radars are used in combination, providing IIP with an greatly improved sensor suite for iceberg reconnaissance. It was acquired by the Coast Guard primarily for the task of locating and tracking oil spills, however, its usefulness to the Ice Patrol mission was clear. The SLAR imagery is produced on 9 in.
Gridded film is the only georegistration.
How effective the SLAR is at discriminating between icebergs and vessels is not as well known. In the absence of visual confirmation there are several ways to infer whether a SLAR radar target is an iceberg or a vessel. The best cue is gross target movement. The presence of ship's wake can sometimes be detected by radar, also indicating the target is a ship. Finally, the intensity of the radar return is used to add to the evidence that a target is a ship.