The field of regard with boxes to the left and right of the aircraft corresponds to which radar mode?

• A. Optimal SAR/Strip SAR
• B. ISAR
• C. CSAR
• D. Spotlight SAR

Answer: (A)

The look geometry shown—fields of regard on both the left and right of the aircraft—embodies a side-looking, strip-wide imaging approach. This is the hallmark of optimal SAR / strip SAR, where the radar emits to a broad swath beside the flight path and forms a continuous strip image as the platform moves. It’s designed to capture a wide ground area along the track, with the look direction chosen to cover the area on either side of the aircraft.

Spotlight SAR focuses a narrow beam on a single ground patch and tracks it, ISAR relies on motion of the target to generate an image rather than a fixed flight-path swath, and CSAR refers to a mission type rather than a specific look geometry. Hence, the left-and-right field-of-regard depiction aligns with the stripmap/optimal SAR mode.