Past and future of radars and EW systems: an industrial perspective

This chapter focuses on the past, present, and future of photonics technology in RAdio Detection And Ranging (RADAR) and electronic support measures (ESM) systems. With respect to what has been presented in the other chapters, here we add comments from an industrial point of view on few additional functions enabled by photonics, namely the optical processors and the quantum radars. We start with “the operational needs” of wide (may be as wide as a country territory) surveillance critical infrastructures. These will include the dual-use surveillance too: for example, the humanitarian needs related to the immigration across the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the relevance of these operational needs, the interdisciplinary nature of the technical approach has to be encouraged. The collaboration should be fostered between industry, university, governmental and legal organizations, and the users (indeed all the stakeholders involved in the management of these complex critical infrastructures), which contribute to establish and refine the operational needs.