Circular-scanning SAR is an imaging mode with its antenna beam rotating continuously with respect to the vertical axis. An image formation algorithm for the missile-borne circular-scanning SAR is proposed in this article. Based on the principle of the polar format algorithm, the focus algorithm is generalized to form each subimage when the antenna beam scans at an arbitrary position. By calculating the 2-D position of each calibration point between the scatterers and the subimages, a method is presented to correct the geometric distortion of each subimage. This method is able to correct the geometric distortion even in the case of high maneuvering. These subimages are then mosaicked together to form a circular image. The simulation results under three different maneuvering trajectories are given, the subimages are formed by the focusing algorithm, and then the final circular image can be formed by mosaicking 71 subimages, each of which is after geometric distortion correction. The simulations validate the proposed image formation algorithm, and the results satisfy system design requirements.
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