Dreams about Radar Equipment

I remember hearing the downfall of the original SPY-1 radar system while I was studying satellite communications equipment in the Navy. It kept picking up what was assumed to a phantom coastline. One night while looking out a the night sky a bridge officer on some early SPY equipped ship. Noticed, low on the horizon, on the same bearing as this phantom coast was. The culprit behind several problems facing the original SPY radar. It was just too powerful. Looking out at the moon and comparing its surface with the phantom coast being returned he realized what the radar system was really looking at.

While the D version of SPY has a fix for some of these problems it's capabilities are even more mind-boggling. And yet, the United States government is selling ships equipped with this radar system to foreign governments all around the world. Simply telling me that buying something like it or even just plans and parts to build your own is possible. I know we've sold these to Taiwan for defense from China, but haven't you ever noticed many Taiwanese and their politicians seek re-unification with the main land? It would be possible to get a good sensor radar for your ship when heading out into the solar system, all I'm saying.

While I'm not going to tell you everything I know about SPY, as far as I know its still considered secret, but I can think of a lot of amazing applications for something like it on a commercial or private space craft. Consider asteroid mining for instance, combined with a DARPA Grand Challenge derived autopilot system could a fair sized probe be able to break up and capture materials form the asteroid belts? Could they be built in a way that makes them more profitable than present open pit mining?

Would they be needed on large scale interplanetary craft? Larger than the current International Space Station is what I'd like to see zipping between planets.

For most its probably just a useless expense to equip a ship with such equipment. But I'm here because I like to imagine, and the possibilities just get me dreaming about the distant future. I think I even got the idea watching Star Trek last night