An X-band front end was developed for this dissertation to test the ability of this radar system in an RCS measurement application. This front end simply plugs into the S-band rail SAR IF/data acquisition racks and bolts on to the mechanized rail. This X-band rail SAR was shown to be capable of imaging groups of pushpins using extremely low amounts of power, down to 10 nano-watts. Other high sensitivity imagery was acquired showing positive results (see imagery page).