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Radar Technology Community Workshop Final Report June 2026

Abstract

The United States (U.S.) weather radar enterprise remains a world-class scientific asset, but it is at a pivotal juncture. Recent advancements have enabled major breakthroughs across a wide range of applications, such as dual-polarization technology, mobile radar platforms, and open-source software. Sustaining this momentum, however, requires a deliberate and forward-looking strategy in the face of growing system pressures and emerging capability gaps. Preserving U.S. leadership in atmospheric radar science over the coming decades will require coordinated action to address vulnerabilities in existing infrastructure, limited access to mobile and deployable facilities, the continued absence of a community-accessible airborne precipitation radar, fragmented software ecosystems, and a looming technical workforce gap. The urgency is real: infrastructure is aging, costs are increasing for next-generation systems, and the window for strategic, coordinated interagency investment is rapidly narrowing.

Strategic Imperatives
The NSF and partner agencies face four decisions that should not be deferred:

Sustain and maximize value of existing facilities. Current radar facilities require stable, long-term support to enable cutting-edge research, rapid response to extreme weather events, and applications relevant for national security. Without sustained investment, scientific productivity declines, institutional knowledge erodes, and societal vulnerabilities increase.

Invest strategically in emerging technologies. Phased array radar (PAR), distributed radar networks (i.e., multiple radar systems) and integrated environments, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted operations offer transformative capabilities. Maintaining a healthy balance between existing infrastructure and next-generation technologies will require sustained, coordinated investment rather than isolated, short-term projects. Specifically for PAR, increased calibration and cost demands necessitate technology maturation and risk reduction support to ensure proper adoption in the community.

Invest in the next generation airborne precipitation radar. The need for a community-accessible airborne precipitation radar has been identified in every major community planning effort since 2012. Numerous studies have demonstrated the unique value of airborne radar observations for improving understanding and forecasting. A realistic, lower-risk development pathway for Doppler and dual-polarimetric PAR applications now exists, but coordinated agency commitment and investment is needed to move this capability forward.

Build the infrastructure that science depends on. Efficient and meaningful access to datasets and software tools is essential for a rapidly evolving scientific community. Establishing a centralized hub for software, data, standards, and training provides critical infrastructure to support innovation and empower the next generation of radar science.

NSF investment should maximize scientific return by enabling comprehensive, high-quality observations while prioritizing broad utility, cost-effectiveness, and operational reliability over niche technological advances. Building a unified radar environment to accelerate AI-enhanced sensing, pursue a proper phased development and integration for PAR across deployment platforms, and strengthen the national radar workforce pipeline will sustain long-term leadership in atmospheric radar infrastructure and science. Addressing these key topics will enable the U.S. to transition from a collection of aging, largely siloed sensors to an integrated and coordinated radar ecosystem.

Co-Conveners:
Brad Klotz and Pavlos Kollias

Contributing Authors:
Brad Klotz, Brigitte Baeuerle, Pavlos Kollias, Robin Tanamachi, Michael Bell, Jothiram Vivekanandan, Angela Rowe, Steve Nesbitt, Tian-You Yu, Zhiquan Liu, and Molly Killinger

Radar Technology Community Workshop Report Published June 2026 --- https://doi.org/10.26023/0kfw-5885

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This material is based upon work supported by the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research, a major facility sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation and managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.

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