When the US Department of Defense's (DoD) latest spy satellite, NROL-15, blasted into orbit on 29 June 2012, the event underlined Washington's commitment to developing space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. This followed the launch of NROL-38 satellite on 20 June; both satellites are believed to be equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to enable them to provide a long-range wide-area surveillance capability that can penetrate clouds, observe targets during the day and night and deliver high-resolution imagery from longer ranges.
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