Great News, it looks like DRDO is made significant progress in Photonic Radar. DRDO soon to realise the integrated Photonic Transmit Receive modules along with Photonic Distribution Network.

In Photonic Radar traditional Electronics replaced by Photonics. The frequency of the radar is still in the RF, but lasers are used to create and analyse the RF signals with high precision. Photonic Radar will have longer range of detection, better position sensing, and 3D model target reconstruction Photonic Radar can detect stealth objects with better accuracy than traditional radars.

In picture you can see the Context Diagram of DRDO Photonic Radar.

What is Photonic Radar Technology?

Photonic radar is a technique by which radar may be produced and analysed with the help of photonics rather than traditional RF engineering techniques. The frequency of the radar is still in the RF, but lasers are used to create and analyse the RF signals with high precision.

The USA, China, and Russia have research programs to equip fighter aircraft with photonic radar.The potential benefits are longer range of detection, better position sensing, and 3D model target reconstruction.

In one study, a test device could resolve objects as small as 3 x 4 cm (1.2 x 1.6 in), much smaller than traditional radar.