Patent ID: 7423578

Claim:
A plurality of radiating elements configured in a common array aperture for detecting and tracking targets in a long range mode or a short range mode of operation; a control processor operatively coupled to a pair of exciter and receiver arrangements coupled in parallel to said array, said control processor responsive to a control signal for configuring said plurality of radiating elements to define a pair of sub-apertures from said common array aperture for detecting and tracking targets, wherein said pair of sub-apertures are each independently steerable array apertures, each subaperture communicating with a respective one of said pair of exciter and receiver arrangements; wherein said short range mode, each of said exciter pairs is responsive to a corresponding pulse waveform to form separate beams from said subapertures differing in at least one of frequency, phase, and beam pointing direction; wherein in said long range mode, each of said exciter pairs is responsive to a corresponding pulse waveform of the same frequency, phase, and beam pointing direction to coherently combine signal data to form a single narrowband beam from said subapertures.