An American government research operation, Sandia National Labs, has completed testing of a lightweight (25 pound) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). The advantage of this is that SAR operates like a radar, but provides photographic quality images of what it sees. Being a radar, it can operate in darkness, and can see through clouds and sand storms. An SAR unit this light can be installed in small UAVs, like the U.S. Armys Shadow. In places like Iraq, hostile forces often operate more freely when its overcast, or theres a sandstorm blowing, knowing that the more common night cameras cannot see very well under these conditions. Such will not be the case with SAR, which previously was restricted to use on larger aircraft (because of the weight of the equipment.)