Democratizing Radar

About IMSAR

Devoted to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
overview

IMSAR at a Glance

Founded in 2004, IMSAR is a privately owned business that designs, builds, and supports security and intelligence products. We strive to provide manned and unmanned platforms with the best Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology possible.

IMSAR is currently working with many agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to deploy new capabilities.

Located in Utah Valley, IMSAR enjoys both beautiful scenery and access to a wide range of environmental testing opportunities due to Utah’s various climate changes and ecological diversity. We are based in a 60,000 sq ft facility, which is home to our corporate office, our research and development operations, and our own in-house manufacturing.
IMSAR is dedicated to excellence in rapid technology innovation, manufacturing, and program execution; and remains committed to decreasing size and increasing the capabilities of our radars.
OVERVIEW

IMSAR at a Glance

IMSAR is dedicated to excellence in rapid technology innovation, manufacturing, and program execution; and remains committed to decreasing size and increasing the capabilities of our radars.
Founded in 2004, IMSAR is a privately owned business that designs, builds, and supports security and intelligence products. We strive to provide manned and unmanned platforms with the best Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology possible.

IMSAR is currently working with many agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to deploy new capabilities.

Located in Utah Valley, IMSAR enjoys both beautiful scenery and access to a wide range of environmental testing opportunities due to Utah’s various climate changes and ecological diversity. We are based in a 60,000 sq ft facility, which is home to our corporate office, our research and development operations, and our own in-house manufacturing.

Deep Relationships

Long lasting, deep relationships are built on humility and vulnerability-based trust. This applies to customers, internal team members, and with our suppliers. These relationships are built over time and are critical to ensuring the success of our customers’ missions.

Rapid Innovation with High Quality

Moving quickly doesn’t mean sacrificing quality. A highly modular and scalable product architecture, combined with a vertically integrated team and deep relationships with suppliers and customers, allows us to rapidly innovate while maintaining high quality.

Challenge Assumptions

What we’ve achieved with our low size, weight, and power radars was once considered impossible. We haven’t changed the laws of physics, but we have found new ways to solve complex problems by challenging assumptions.

management
Meet the Management Team
From left to right: Robb, Riley, Curtis, Larry, Ryan, Chris, David, Luke
Ryan Smith
Founder & CEO

Ryan Smith (CEO) founded IMSAR LLC in 2004 after developing the smallest Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in the world. At the time, Ryan was the lead radio frequency engineer at Wavetronix, designing and manufacturing high volume traffic radar sensors. Ryan holds a M.S. and B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Brigham Young University. Ryan has led IMSAR in numerous Department of Defense contracts, including winning a Program of Record SAR/MTI Radar with the Marines as well as a deployment operating SAR and CCD in Afghanistan for over 4 years. Today, Ryan’s vision leads IMSAR into the future, focusing on advancements in radar modes and integration with other sensors for Multi-Intelligence products for both Manned and Unmanned platforms.

Larry Moore
President

Larry Moore is the President at IMSAR. He earned his M.S. in Engineering Management at George Washington University and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University. Larry has worked with IMSAR since graduating from BYU and has worked in a variety of roles within Engineering from Mechanical Engineer to VP of Engineering. For two years, Larry changed roles and worked as the VP of Sales. In 2021, Larry returned to Engineering to work again as the VP of Engineering. In 2024 Larry stepped into the role of IMSAR Company President. Larry has contributed to the design and integration of radar systems onto Group I and II military UAS and has helped scale IMSAR radar systems to operate through the entire spectrum from Group 1-5 UAS, manned aircraft, and stratospheric platforms.

David Trent
Executive VP & COO

David Trent joined the IMSAR team in 2013 and played an integral role in setting up IMSAR’s manufacturing facility. In 2016 David became the COO with responsibility for the operations within the organization. Prior to IMSAR, David was the Director of Operations at Blendtec, a world leader of kitchen products, and a co-founder of Wolf Electronix, an electronics manufacturing solutions provider. David earned his M.S. in Management, Strategy and Leadership from Michigan State University and B.S. in Business and Technology Management from Utah Valley University.

Chris Galbraith
CFO

Chris joined IMSAR in 2018. He has over 30 years of experience in accounting and finance and significant experience in cash management, planning & forecasting, business process and systems design, and growth strategies. Chris has worked with large public accounting firms, small services enterprises, DOE contractors, and fortune 500 companies. He has a Bachelors and a Masters in Accounting from Brigham Young University.

Robb Rigtrup
VP of Business Development & Marketing

Robb Rigtrup is the Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at IMSAR LLC. He leads a team of sales, proposals, marketing, and media development to provide synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and moving target indicator (MTI) sensors to domestic (US) and global defense, industry, commercial, environmental, and law enforcement customers.

Prior to joining the IMSAR team, Robb worked as a defense consultant in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There he assisted the Ministry of Defense with establishing its first joint operational force. Before working in Riyadh, Robb served as an officer in the US Air Force for over 25 years as an intelligence and targeting professional. He retired as the Director of Joint Targeting on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon.

Robb has an undergraduate degree in Korean Studies and graduate degrees in Business Administration and Strategic Intelligence. He and his wife Madelyn have 5 children and 5 grandchildren.

Curtis Thomas
General Counsel & Contracts Manager

Curtis joined the IMSAR team in 2013 as a Technical and Cost Proposal Writer. He worked in various similar roles, including Proposal Manager and Director of Business Development, before joining the legal team as Associate General Counsel. Since 2023, Curtis has been the General Counsel, Contracts Manager, and Facility Security Officer for IMSAR. Outside of IMSAR, he has also worked in training and as a law clerk or legal intern for several employers, including as a law clerk for the Honorable Judge Dale A. Kimball at the Federal District Court for the District of Utah. Curtis received both his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Middle East Studies/Arabic with a minor in Mathematics and his Masters in Public Policy (MPP) degree from Brigham Young University. He also graduated summa cum laude with a J.D. degree from the J. Reuben Clark School of Law at Brigham Young University.

Riley Hansen
Director of Programs

Riley joined the IMSAR team in 2012 to manage IMSAR's deployed operations. He has worked in various roles at IMSAR, including as the Demonstration Team Lead, Director of International Business Development, and Program Manager. Outside of IMSAR, Riley served as a non-commissioned officer in the US Army and as a program manager for several manufacturing and aerospace organizations.

Riley graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelors degree in Economics from Utah State University and holds a Program Management Professional certification.

Luke Kunz
VP of Engineering

Luke Kunz (VP of Engineering) architected the development of Moving Target Indicator (MTI) modes for IMSAR’s radar systems, evolving the technology from initial algorithms to comprehensive system design. Since joining the company in 2012, Luke has served in several leadership roles, including Algorithms Team Lead and Lead of the Senior Technical Staff. Previously, he spent eight years at Raytheon Missile Systems as a signal processing lead working on several advanced airborne radar programs. Luke holds both a M.S. and B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Brigham Young University.

Luke has served as the technical lead for major projects in support of DoD and DHS contracts, delivering radar systems to meet mission-critical operational needs. Today, Luke is leading IMSAR’s engineering organization through a period of rapid global growth, focusing on the scaling and sustainment of high-performance radar products and system designs for UAS and manned platforms.

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