# MetaSAR-L
*sensor . products*

MetaSensing MetaSAR-L airborne L-band synthetic aperture radar.

## Specifications
- **manufacturer**: metasensing
- **sensor**: {"instrument_family":"sar","measurement_principle":"active","frequency_band":"L","centre_frequency_mhz":1300,"chirp_bandwidth_mhz":50,"polarisation_modes":["HH","VV","HV","VH"],"modes":[{"name":"Fully polarimetric SAR","resolution_range_m":1,"polarisation":"HH+VV+HV+VH"},{"name":"Bistatic InSAR","polarisation":"HH+VV+HV+VH"}],"notes":"FMCW mode. Centre frequency 1.3 GHz. Bandwidth 50 MHz (BelSAR 2018 authorised; datasheet may differ). PRF 1004 Hz, sampling frequency 50 MHz. Mass <20 kg including navigation unit. Flat panel microstrip antennas: 33x33 cm (square) and 33x66 cm (rectangular). Nominal look angle 45 deg. Beamwidth 40 deg elevation, 40 or 20 deg azimuth. Campaigns: BelSAR 2018 (bistatic, Belgium, two Cessna Grand Caravan, ESA-funded, agriculture/hydrology); MetaSAR-L also deployed on UAV (polarimetric UAV-SAR campaign). DInSAR capability for deformation monitoring."}
- **deployment context**: airborne
- **entity type**: sensor
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-11
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: unclaimed
- **provider**: metasensing
- **attributes**: {"kind":"sensor","product_status":null,"manufacturer":"metasensing","description":"MetaSensing MetaSAR-L airborne L-band synthetic aperture radar.","sensor":"{\"instrument_family\":\"sar\",\"measurement_principle\":\"active\",\"frequency_band\":\"L\",\"centre_frequency_mhz\":1300,\"chirp_bandwidth_mhz\":50,\"polarisation_modes\":[\"HH\",\"VV\",\"HV\",\"VH\"],\"modes\":[{\"name\":\"Fully polarimetric SAR\",\"resolution_range_m\":1,\"polarisation\":\"HH+VV+HV+VH\"},{\"name\":\"Bistatic InSAR\",\"polarisation\":\"HH+VV+HV+VH\"}],\"notes\":\"FMCW mode. Centre frequency 1.3 GHz. Bandwidth 50 MHz (BelSAR 2018 authorised; datasheet may differ). PRF 1004 Hz, sampling frequency 50 MHz. Mass <20 kg including navigation unit. Flat panel microstrip antennas: 33x33 cm (square) and 33x66 cm (rectangular). Nominal look angle 45 deg. Beamwidth 40 deg elevation, 40 or 20 deg azimuth. Campaigns: BelSAR 2018 (bistatic, Belgium, two Cessna Grand Caravan, ESA-funded, agriculture/hydrology); MetaSAR-L also deployed on UAV (polarimetric UAV-SAR campaign). DInSAR capability for deformation monitoring.\"}","bus":null,"ground_segment":null,"launcher":null,"analysis_service":null,"deployment_context":"airborne"}
- **technology**: radar

## Editorial
MetaSAR-L is an airborne L-band synthetic aperture radar developed by MetaSensing, operating at 1.3 GHz. The instrument supports fully polarimetric acquisition (HH, VV, HV, VH) in FMCW mode, achieving 1 m range resolution under campaign-authorised conditions; native instrument bandwidth from the manufacturer datasheet is not confirmed in accessible public sources (the Belgium BelSAR 2018 campaign was authorised at 50 MHz by BIPT). The antenna suite consists of flat panel microstrip elements: a 33x33 cm square aperture and a 33x66 cm rectangular aperture; nominal look angle is 45 degrees with 40-degree elevation beamwidth. Total mass, including navigation unit, is under 20 kg. MetaSAR-L is deployable on manned aircraft and UAV platforms. Demonstrated campaigns include the ESA-funded BelSAR 2018 bistatic L-band experiment over Belgium (agriculture and hydrology, two Cessna Grand Caravan, resulting in the publicly available BelSAR full-polarimetric dataset) and a separate polarimetric UAV-SAR campaign. DInSAR for surface deformation monitoring is a supported operational mode.[^belsar-arxiv-2310-04423][^metasensing-metasar-l-uav][^metasensing-metasar-product]

## Sources
- [belsar-arxiv-2310-04423] | The BELSAR dataset: Mono- and bistatic full-pol L-band SAR for agriculture and hydrology | https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.04423 | tier=peer-reviewed | accessed=2026-06-11
- [metasensing-metasar-l-uav] | Polarimetric MetaSAR-L on UAV, MetaSensing | https://metasensing.com/polarimetric-metasar-l-on-uav/ | tier=operator-press | accessed=2026-06-11
- [metasensing-metasar-product] | MetaSAR product family, MetaSensing | https://metasensing.com/product/metasar/ | tier=operator-marketing | accessed=2026-06-11

---
Source: https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/metasar-l
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)