A system for determining a spatial disposition or a characteristic of a target external to a terrestrial vehicle is provided. The system may comprise a radar antenna array comprising a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna, a vehicle position sensor configured to obtain a spatial disposition of the terrestrial vehicle, and a controller operatively coupled to the radar antenna array and the vehicle position sensor. The controller can be configured to synchronize successive radar pulses transmitted by the transmitting antenna and a plurality of signals received by the receiving antenna, with the spatial disposition of the terrestrial vehicle obtained by the vehicle position sensor substantially in real time as the terrestrial vehicle is in motion, to generate a set of synchronized measurements, and use the set of synchronized measurements to determine (i) the spatial disposition of the target relative to the terrestrial vehicle or (ii) the characteristic of the target.