Abstract:In this paper, a new type of forward looking synthetic aperture laser radar (SAL) imaging system was studied based on one central optical element for laser transmitting and N elements for echo receiving. Firstly, the system architecture model was given and the imaging principles were analyzed. Then the target echo model and range doppler algorithm(RDA) were proposed for forward looking SAL. Lastly, nine point target imaging was simulated, 128×128 points slice of the target peak center and envelope of azimuth and range were analyzed in detail. Simulation results demonstrate the validity of the imaging system.