2 I-R-E TRANSACTIONS-AERONAUTICAL AND NAVIGATIONAL ELECTRONICS December

Airborne Radar as a Navigational Aid*

DAVID MANNHEIMERt

Summary-This paper evaluates airborne radar as a navigational on a target at, say 100 miles, is an arc approximately
aid by comparing its accuracy with that of three other basic types of one mile thick by five miles long. These facts indicate
navigational systems. Advantages and disadvantages of its present that the fundamental factor limiting resolution and
use are discussed, and its probable future role is estimated. Design
features which must be incorporated into airborne radar to improve picture detail is antenna aperture, which cannot be in-
its use as a navigational aid are noted, and the use of airborne radar creased substantially in the foreseeable future. Ob-
for weather detection is discussed. viously such a long-range map cannot show other than
the most outstanding terrain features and shore lines.
INTRODUCTION Basically then, as a long-range aid, airborne radar is use-
R ADAR has become an accepted aid for marine ful only when operated within range of such outstand-
Xnavigation because it permits ship movement in ing landmarks. However, quick orientation is usually
weather in which ships without radar remain at possible by reference to such landmarks, and check
anchor. Also, navigational radar is widely accepted by points of this type can be separated by several hundred
the Military for both shipboard and airborne use be- miles, particularly if all-around-looking can be accom-
cause its navigational and search capabilities without plished in the antenna installation.
cooperating ground aids permit operations not possible
with radarless ships or aircraft.
Airborne radar is not now fitted in commercial air- OIL COOLER
craft because it has not been demonstrated that radar- MWILINGTO CAMDEN
equipped aircraft will meet schedules better than air- T\TON TIMOR-
craft with other types of aids. In the commercial navi- LTn
WASHING N
cAMs EAWE
SAY BRIDGE
gational field where cooperating ground facilities are
available, many alternatives other than the use of radar
are possible. Thus, the future role of radar in commer-
PRO=E AlUXEN
cial aircraft is not well-defined and is the subject of RI,NUOCAE RIVER CAMAY
widely varying opinion. RIVER _, POTOMAC RIVERY
RAPPAMANNOCK DELAWARE MAY
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the uses of RhVER
airborne radar as a navigational aid and to note the Fig. 1-100-mile ground paint.
design features necessary to permit these uses. The
comparisons mentioned in this paper between radar
and other aids are made to evaluate the use of radar in
terms, where possible, with which we are already fa- NORWALK*
miliar. *N
STAMFOR5
TYPICAL AIRBORNE RADAR PERFORMANCE _____
Perhaps the most interesting use of airborne radar is ,- _- _
that of navigating directly by reference to the display
of echoes received from ground targets. With modern
radars of the 150-pound class, it is possible to present
EC
crude ground maps covering a radius of 100 miles or
Z
more, or roughly 31,000 square miles. Such a map is
shown in the scope photograph of Fig. 1. As a matter of OYSTER 8AY NTINGTON
fact, if altitude and weather permit, outstanding targets LONG ISLAND
are often observed at a 200-mile distance. When such
long-range maps are presented on a typical 5-inch cath- Fig. 2-6-mile ground paint.
ode-ray tube, however, spot size limits range definition
to about one mile. Likewise, antenna sizes of about a Radar has obviously greater accuracy in making
30-inch aperture at x-band limit bearing definition to navigational fixes at short range, however, because of
approximately three degrees. Thus, the resolving power its angular type of bearing measurement, and because
* This
of the increased detail that can be observed on a short
at the IRE National Conference on range display, as shown in Fig. 2. On a 15-mile radius
paper was presentedOhio,
Airborne Electronics, Dayton, May, 1954.
t Sperry Gyroscope Co., Great Neck, New York. presentation, for example, a 5-inch scope will allow

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 1954
resolution in range to the order of one microsecond, or
500 feet, and a 3-degree antenna beam will allow resolu-
tion in bearing to approximately a mile at 10 miles. At
ranges of about four miles, range can be read to ap-
proximately 125 feet and bearing to about 5 mile.
Ground sited radar beacons make long-range orienta-
tion and navigation possible at line of sight ranges, ir-
respective of the characteristics of the terrain. Since
one-way transmission is involved in the radar interroga-
tion and beacon reply links, attenuation by weather is of
little concern even at x-band. Such beacons can be built
to weigh less than 100 pounds and can be easily sited.
They provide a convenient navigational aid to radar-
equipped aircraft. One such beacon will provide an im-
mediate and continuous fix for radar-equipped aircraft
within line of sight, since range, bearing, and identity
can be read directly from the radar scope. Fig. 3 shows
a scope presentation of 6 such beacons simultaneously
as they appear in a plane flying at 5,000 feet in the
vicinity of Cape May, New Jersey.
NAS LAKEHURST
NAS WILLOW
1-2
AN2-D
S PATUXENTRTATO
NA$ PATUXENTIVE
1-2-2-1
Fig. 3-Radar beacons in vicinity of Cape May, N.
T'he utility of radar can be increased by using an
azimuth-stabilized indication. When this is done, it is
possible to fly any straight line offset ground track
within range of a known landmark or beacon. With this
technique, the pilot employs directional information
co-ordinated with the aircraft controls irrespective of
the position of the reference target or of the ground
track selected. The scope picture is oriented by a com-
pass tie-in so that the bearing of the selected ground
track lies fore and aft on the scope, irrespective of the
heading of the aircraft. When this is done, and when the
aircraft heading is correct, all targets will appear to
move fore and aft on the scope, and the aircraft track
will be parallel to the desired ground track. A fore and
aft reticle or lubber line that can be offset in the across
track direction, or across the scope, is used. When it is
offset a distance equal to that measured on a map per-
pendicular to the selected track and equal to the sepa-
ration between the track and a reference target, the
reticle will indicate the correct path of the reference
target when the desired ground track is being made good
(being followed exactly). The pilot notes differences be-
tween the reticle and the path of the reference target
down the scope. Errors in making good the desired
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Mannheimer: Airborne Radar as a Navigational Aid 3
ground track appear as right or left errors, and are
thus co-ordinated with aircraft control action, as shown
in Fig. 4. With this method, continuous navigational
information is conveniently available whenever the air-
craft is within range of a recognizable ground target or
radar beacon.
DESIRED TRACK
N FEARING
;O TARGET
LANDMARK 3
\ OFFSET
DISTANCE
R\
RII
1
I MOVABL
/\PRESENT RETICLE
A/C POSITION
MAP RADAR SCOPE
WIL_LOW GROVE Fig. 4-Use of azimuth stabilized radar.
GLAKEHURST
> -it ASATLANTIC
-2
CITY ATclA yAT,C If a heading marker is presented on the directionally
stabilized indication, the bearing difference between the
ANDREWS heading marker and the reticle gives a drift reading
directly when the desired track is being made good.
NCOTEAGUE Another convenient technique for measuring drift
NASCINCOTEAGUE1
1-1-1-2 makes use of Doppler principles. If a steering servo is
J. added to the antenna so that it may be stopped and
steered in the approximate direction of the ground track,
pulsations of ground target echoes will appear along the
range trace on the scope. The antenna may be adjusted
quite accurately to the true ground track if the antenna
is steered until these pulsations reach a minimum fre-
quency. The difference between the antenna direction
as indicated by the scope trace and the heading marker
gives drift angle for a stabilized indication. In a relative
bearing presentation the drift angle can be measured as
the angle between the fore and aft line on the scope and
the antenna direction as indicated by the scope trace.
NAVIGATION ACCURACY
When the above-mentioned techniques are used,
radar navigation may be accomplished as long as suit-
able reference targets can be recognized. If the effective-
ness of radar navigation is to be evaluated, it is first
necessary to consider in more detail the relative preci-
sion of navigation which is possible when suitable refer-
ence targets are available.
To begin with, a distinction should be made between
resolving power and accuracy of the scope presentation.
Generally speaking, in a well-designed radar set, the
accuracy of position measurement on an isolated target
is greater than target resolution. Thus it is commonly
possible to measure the direction of such targets con-
4 I-R-E TRANSACTIONS-- AERONAUTICAL AND NAVIGATIONAL ELECTRONICS December
siderably better than the well-known '-power beam- errors are not necessarily orthogonal, as in the case of
width figure which is often taken as a measure of bear- base line systems, account is taken of the angle of cut
ing resolution. Stuclies of bombing results in connection of the position lines in computing the distance error. In
with bombing radar, in which high accuracy is of the the case of Loran, where the 2 time difference measure-
greatest importance, have shown that accuracies of f¢ of ments are not independent, a correlation coefficient is
the beamwidth can be measured consistently. This, of used. All the curves show the value of rms distance
course, implies that the mechanics of the antenna, the error that will not be exceeded 65 per cent of the time
servo repeat-back, the methods of scope display and of for the various combinations of standard errors involved
reading the scope, and the radome must be designed to in each case.
function with substantially less error. For the purpose
of this paper, however, in reference to bearing measure-
ments made on complex targets, a representative azi- S
muth accuracy has been taken as the '-power beam-
width of a 30-inch antenna at x-band, or approximately
3 degrees. In these cases the usatble accuracy is limited °
by the ability to resolve the point of reference. For Z
isolated targets, such as beacons, a one degree azimuth /
accuracy, which may be realized in practice with a light-
weight radar set, has been used. These errors in bearing e Z
measurement <are a function of the design of the radar
set and will be considered as the standard errors of bear- < o.1
ing measurement when the accuracy of a navigational
fix typical of airborne radar is analyzed. 05
I'he range accuracy of a radar set also is different b -e so g
from the range resolution. In general, the effective ,,_
range accuracy depends mostly on the bandwidth of the J
receiver, the triggering accuracy and rise time of the 0.1 1.0
.01 0 100 20
transmitter pulses, and the timing and linearity of the (R) RANGE (N.M.)
indicator deflection; while the range resolution depends Fig. 5-Typical standard errors in range (slant ranget grounid
on the transmittedl pulse dluration and indicator spot range).
size. When the spot size in miles is greater than the
accuracy of range calibration or the transmitter pulse I _l
length, it limits the effective range accuracy. In a typical .
50
airborne radar the combination of range sweeps and CROSS BEARING
range marker dlisplay can generally be considered ac- 1
curate to 1 per cent of the range. Also the spot size
limitation on ranlge measurement produces an uncer- 0
tainty in range that generally increases with range, since a_w
on the longer ranlges, a spot size covers a greater dis- x.O_
9' 0.5
tance in miles. If these 2 factors that vary with range -
are considered with the fixed me,asurement errors de-_
pending upon triggering and upon bandwidth consider- < O. m SHORAN DUA:
ations, an approximate curve for the standard error of .0, ARBON
AG
range measurement of a typical radar set using a 5- RAOR
inch scope can be made, as shown in Fig. 5.
These standard errors of ranlge .and bearing measure- .1
.0311 fR
0.5 1.5
-
5 lO
1 tO0
50 500 1000
mnent then can be combined by taking their rms sum, RANGE(N.M.)
since range andl bearing measurement are orthogonal Fig. 6-Comparative accuracies of several navigation systems.
and uncorrelatecl in a radar set, thus giving a value for
rms distance error. 'I'his rms (listance error is used in
this paper as a measure of navigation accuracy. Various In order that a broad comparison may be given, air-
types of navigational systems will differ in the directional borne radar, an RO system, is compared with the three
distribution of distance errors, but the rms magnitude other basic types of navigational systems: the cross
is nevertheless a good yardstick for a brief comparison. bearing system, the dual range system, and the hyper-
Fig. 6 shows these relations in a more comprehensive bolic system. An example of each type, on which es-
manner, since the rms distance error vs range is plotted tablished data with regard to standard measurement
to the same scale as that obtained for several other errors is available, has been selected. It should be em-
well-known means of navigation. Where the standard phasized that the curves shown are approximate and

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1954 Mannheimer: Airborne Radar as a Navigational Aid 5

are intended to show typical accuracies for currently
practical systems and not the limit that can be obtained
in any of the cases.
In the 3 later types of navigational systems noted,
accurately sited base lines are required, and the accu-
racy varies depending on the direction of fix from the
base line. GCenerally, accuracy is greatest along the per-
pendicular bisector of the base line and it falls off in
directions approaching the base line extension. Position
measurements become ambiguous when the base line
extension is reached. With these systems, to obtain
reasonable accuracy over a wide field of coverage, it is
necessary to use a long base line from perhaps 50 miles
to several hundred miles. To facilitate comparison, for
these latter 3 types of navigational devices, distance
error has been plotted from the base line midpoint along
the perpendicular bisector of the base line and also
along a line 45 degrees from the base line. The shaded
area between the 2 curves represents a band of accuracy
vs range which is fairly representative of the best ac-
curacy that may be obtained from these systems, since
it relates only to the regions where they appear best.
In the case of HFDF and Shoran, maximum accuracy
occurs at a point on the base line perpendicular bisector
where the lines of position from each ground station
cross at right angles.
For the cross bearing example, ground-sited high-
frequency direction finders were chosen as typical, with
a base line of 67 nautical miles and a standard error of
bearing measurement of 21 degrees.
Shoran, which has a standard deviation of range
measurement of approximately 0.008 nautical mile,
and which is used often with a base line of 100 miles,
was chosen for the dual range system.
For the hyperbolic system, standard loran was chosen.
Loran requires 3 stations for obtaining a fix at the inter-
section of two hyperbolas. These stations were selected
as being 300 miles apart and on a common base line. A
standard error of four ,us in time difference measurement
was selected as tvpical. These figures and the geometry
Atlsotic.potdnFg6iacrefrhOmierg
Atlantic.
Also System (OBD ona standar e ofBrang
measuremSysten OfD0.2
n ial mland. b of rnge prove extremely difficult over land. Most of the con-
mesure ement of
Lurement of 2 degrees. The
leandof bearingmeasuoof saidderation
Th bearing measurement
OBD is affected by many sources of error, including
terrain effects. These effects have not been included in recognizable targets over be
thestandarderror
the standard ofbering measurements.
error of bearing measu T s the
s lTnus te
above-chosen curve for OBD shows a higher accuracy .. towns in flat country as white targets on a pale
fn%TQi
tance from a fixed ground point; while in the case of
airborne radar, accuracy is plotted as a function of dis-
tance of the aircraft from a reference target. It is sig-
nificant to note that, with airborne radar, the measuring
system flies with the aircraft so that radar is generally
capable of higher accuracy than many ground sited aids
provided that short-range targets can be recognized.
For example, shoran is capable of highest accuracy be-
cause of the extremely precise range measurement ob-
tainable. But, this highest accuracy can be obtained
only over a small field generally perpendicular to a
ground-sited base line and a fixed distance from the
ground site. Airborne radar, as long as a target can be
recognized at short range, is capable of almost as high an
accuracy anywhere. Airborne radar thus is a relatively
precise navigational aid with great flexibility and can
provide good accuracy over an indefinite extent of cover-
age, except over water out of range of a landfall. It
compares favorably, for example, with loran, which has
a large coverage area by virtue of a long base line but
somewhat similar accuracy at ranges between 10 and
50 miles.
The OBD system, being an RO method, is more like
airborne radar with regard to accuracy of navigational
fixes; that is, its accuracy is a function of range but not
of direction from the ground station if terrain effects are
excluded. However, as in all ground-sited aids, its ac-
curacy is highest at the ground site or terminal point
and does not compare with airborne radar at some dis-
tance from the site.
The values for standard error of range and bearing
measurement in plotting the above curves were based
on a report published under the sponsorship of the Air
Navigation Development Board,' and the values for
the base-line systems were based on a Bureau of Stand-
ards report.2 Much of the method of evaluation of navi-
gational aids also was based on the Bureau of Standards
report.
TARGET IDENTIFICATION
Of course the utility of the inherent accuracy of radar
entirely on identification of suitable reference
depends
targets. As is well-known, this identification of targets
is relatively easy in the vicinity of coast lines but can
thus
02degrees.
of the usefulness of radar as a navigational
depends on how well the radar can present
all types of terrain.
A modern radar capable of displaying small
should uht-trr-qn
l:trinrv back-
Aphr-

than~~~~ ~shul
geeal ~ be epcdwihODfr poi ground, of presenting large cities as distinguished from
tio fiin wihrgr to*th grud Aswilppa suburbs and villages in flat terrain, of presenting rivers
later,~~~~~1
hoevr it isapial omaueet e and lakes of reasonable size on a 50-mile range, and of
tween 2 nearby aircraft. Consideration of Fig. 6 shows 1 W. R. Rambo and others, Report No. 540-1, "Evaluation of
*meitl tat arbore
lmme1ateytha raa isS qute
aibon rdar ompaaLul lnN.
quit coprbei Y,System
OBD Navigation,"
Octobe of 1950. )X Airborne Inst. Laboratory, Mineola,
accuracy to other forms of navigational aids, and at 2 W. Q. Crichiow, Report No. CRPL-4-1, "The Comparative
short range it is generally better. In the case of ground- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~tems,"
Accuracy Central Radio Existing
of Various and Proposed
Propagation RadioBureau
Lab., National Navigation Sys-
of Stand-
-
sited aids, the accuracy is plotted with respect to dis- ards, \V\ashington, D. C.; December, 1946.

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6 I-R-E TRANSACTIONS -AERONAUTICAL AND NAVIGATIONAL ELECTRONICS December

showing mountains clearly. The radar should be care- used. Thus the use of radar can be compared in many
fully designed, particularly with regard to indicator respects to contact pilotage, and a great deal of its
definition and to receiver characteristics to present the effectiveness depends on skillful and experienced radar
greatest possible detail and contrast at all ranges. Very navigators.
often nonlinearity of receiver gain or compression in It is perhaps worthwhile to note that among the most
video channels will reduce a good readable picture on skillful of these at present are night fighter pilots. Many
long ranges to a case of ground clutter from which all of these pilots are required to fly nightly for long
small distinguishing deviations such as rivers are re- periods using radar constantly. They are the only organ-
moved. Modern radar will distinguish targets such as ized group with a considerable store of experience in
highways, railroads, and airport runways for short inter- operational use of radar under conditions of low visi-
vals at low altitude on the short-range scales, but con- bility. It is fairly well-known that these pilots make a
siderable experience and operator skill are required to distinction between flying with radar and flying with
observe them. Such targets are not generally self- other means of navigation to the extent that without
evident, as are coast lines, and they require familiarity radar they speak of "going back on instruments." It
with the position on the scope where such targets are is perhaps due to the fact that radar "fails safe" and
expected to appear. presents correct information or none at all. This is
Thus the usefulness of airborne radar as a naviga- mentioned only to show that there is a psychological
tional aid depends to a great extent on how readily a aid available with radar. It can be observed, for exam-
pilot or navigator can interpret such radar scope data. ple, during holding procedure in bad weather near an
It is most difficult to evaluate this aspect of radar per- airport where the ground is visible only on the scope,
formance, but certain general conclusions can be drawn and yet orientation is always evident.
from experience. Just as it is obviously incorrect to The usable accuracy of a radar fix may thus be modi-
assume that a good operational radar set is a solution to fied drastically because of the difficulty of readily identi-
most navigational problems, it is also equally incorrect fying targets over some types of terrain. However, since
to assume that a radar scope should not be used in air resolving power now limits both target identification
navigation because it requires more interpretation than and accuracy of fix, the following design features that
a compass needle. improve resolving power should be emphasized.
The most effective utilization of radar requires train-
ing and experience, particularly in viewing the scope
repeatedly when flying over the same route, just as
RESOTHTIOV
RESOLUTION
does visual observation in contact pilotage. Just as a First and foremost, the largest possible horizontal
student pilot often loses orientation on a clear day when antenna aperture should be used to improve both the
distinguishing landmarks are clearly visible, so is it bearing resolution and the probability of target recog-
possible to lose orientation with radar even though nition. The vertical power pattern of the antenna should
identifiable targets are within range. Particularly over be shaped to produce approximately equal energy
land, a scope presentation can be entirely meaningless return at various depression angles, stressing particu-
unless compared at length with maps, and even then it larly short-range high-altitude operation, where the
may be completely unreadable. However, one can see depression angles become large. Also the azimuthal or
that if opportunity of repeated flight over the same horizontal-pattern side lobes should be minimized over
terrain exists, positioin can be recognized almost at a a wide range of vertical coverage, so that the bearing
glance by a look at a radar scope. resolution at large depression angles will approach that
Effective use of radar depends greatly on constant on the horizon. This latter requirement is most difficult
attention to navigation, but the degree of attention to satisfy in antenna design, since at large depression
required depends greatly on familiarity with the route, angles the nose of the beam may be down 20 db in power
as is true with contact pilotage. One may speculate because of the equal energy requirement, and it is still
even further and perhaps draw the conclusion that necessary to reduce side lobes below this point. This
even though radar displays considerably less detail means that the antenna power distribution has to be
than can be seen visually on a clear day, the ease of controlled as much as 35 db below the maximum power
orientation or the speed of obtaining a fix may be simi- point. If this is not done, the potentially high bearing-
lar in many cases. Although a radar scope shows less accuracy and resolution of the radar at short ranges
detail than does visual observation, its field of view is will be destroyed at altitudes sufficient to involve large
much greater than that of visual observation on a clear depression angles.
day, and the chance of observing a recognizable land- Secondly, the antenna horizontal aperture should be
mark may be nearly the same. Commercial pilots are kept horizontal irrespective of aircraft attitude. A radar
now required by law to have a high degree of familiarity set with an unstabilized antenna is useless during a
w;ith routes flown and airports used. Perhaps it is not turn because the picture disappears except along a line
unreasonable to expect the same degree of familiarity parallel to the aircraft's longitudinal axis, and large
with radar presentation of a route if radar should be errors in bearing measurement can occur because either

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1954 Mannheimer: Airborne Radar as a Navigational Aid 7

pitch or roll of the aircraft causes rotation of the plane ranges. Sensitivity time control or a logarithmic re-
of the antenna beam around the line of sight. Often, ceiver often means the difference between identifying
radar sets are designed with "tilt" stabilization of the rivers or small towns when the aircraft is flying overland,
antenna to keep the nose of the antenna beam on the and missing them altogether, particularly on long-range
horizon, irrespective of the aircraft's altitude. This scales. On short-range scales these functions alone make
stabilization prevents loss of the scope picture but, it possible to separate built-up areas from background
because of rotation of the antenna reflector about the terrain.
line of sight, it allows large errors in bearing measure- In this connection one obvious factor that affects
ment and smearing of the picture during roll or pitch target resolution and recognition often is overlooked.
of the aircraft. Generally, with radars having an antenna The radar must have adequate power to illuminate and
size limited to about a 30-inch horizontal aperture, pitch sufficient sensitivity to see the weakest target that it is
and roll stabilization is used because it introduces no desired to resolve at a given range. That is, a radar
errors, since the antenna always turns around a vertical should be designed with adequate power and sensitivity
axis. For antenna reflectors above this size, tilt stabiliza- to display targets of radar "cross section" comparable
tion with partial indicator compensation for the result- to the area which can be resolved on the ground as
ing errors has been used to conserve radome space. defined by the range and bearing resolution.
This is done because a wide reflector requires consider- The brilliance of the indication of present-day radar
able radome depth if it is rotated about the line of sight scopes is limited in range, and at best it is low under
and within the radome, as must be done with pitch sunlight conditions in the cockpit. Recent "daylight"
and roll stabilization. It has been proposed also to com- tube developments, coupled with brilliance control
pensate completely for the errors in a tilt stabilized means, show the potentiality of increasing enormously
radar, but the necessary computation is complex. the practical usefulness of radar. This is true because
Thirdly, wide receiver bandwidths and short trans- present installations require an eye adaptation time and
mnitter pulses must be used to obtain good range ac- a transition time for transferring attention from the
curacy and definition. This means that multiple band- radar scope to other instruments, but such times can
widths and pulse lengths must be used, since narrower be eliminated if the developments mentioned above
bandwidths and longer pulses are required at longer are successful.
ranges to mninimize indication loss and to realize the
full range performance capabilities for a given trans-
mitter power and antenna size. With modern radar Airborne radar has often been suggested for use as
sets using large scales representing more than 200 miles, an air-to-air collision prevention device or for use in
indication losses can approach 20 db if short pulses maintaining separations in cases of high traffic density.
and wide bandwidths are used on these long-range In this respect it has one great advantage not available
scales. Furthermore, the use of long pulses and narrow in any form of ground-to-air navigation. That is, with
bandwidths does not decrease the accuracy of long- radar the navigational system flies with the aircraft,
range fixes up to the point where indication loss has and high-fix accuracy is possible with close aircraft
been minimized-that is, where the transmitter pulse spacings wherever the aircraft flies. That is, with
length as displayed on the range sweep does not exceed airborne radar, the accuracies of fix shown in Fig. 6
the spot size of the cathode-ray tube in the range dimen- apply to other aircraft as well as ground targets, but
sion. they do not apply in measurements between aircraft
In the fourth place contrast on the indicator must be for the ground sited aids plotted.
maintained over the tremendous range of signal levels A little calculation will show, for example, that if
caused by variations in range, altitude, weather, and an OBD system is considered to have a standard error
terrain. Since the present-day radar scope has little in bearing of 2 degrees in locating aircraft from the
gray scale, these signals must be limited to hold con- ground station, it may have far less accuracy in pro-
stant video level from the strongest signals down to viding information to 2 aircraft relatively closely spaced
those just above the noise level if the weakest signals at some distance from the station. Fig. 7 on the next
are to be seen. Thus, to allow the weak signals and page shows this relationship for a typical case and indi-
strong signals to be seen simultaneously, stronger ones cates that bearing information between aircraft can be
must be at.tenuated to the vicinity of the noise level, subject to large errors. This will show that radar has a
This implies the need for "sensitivity time control" relatively high inherent accuracy for air-to-air naviga-
(receiver gain as the proper function of range) or auto- tion (with the expense of an airborne rotating antenna)
matic gain control (logarithmic receiver gain char- compared to ground navigational aids, because it can
acteristic). When these controls are applied properly, directly measure range and bearing to another aircraft
a great improvement in definition results because the a short distance away. The use of a ground-sited aid
tremendous variation in signal return is compressed to for this purpose is basically unsound whenever aircraft
within the limited range of the cathode ray tube, and are closely spaced at some distance from the ground
the maximum possible contrast is maintained at all station.

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 8 I-R-E TRANSACTIONS AERONAUTICAL AND NAVIGATIONAL ELECTRONICS December

Again this inherent accuracy is of little value unless devices used in Shoran and OBD. These limitations do
other aircraft can be seen and identified. The problem of not exist in the use of Loran and HFDF, which involve
"seeing" other aircraft targets with a reasonable size only a receiving function in the aircraft.
airborne radar is basically more difficult than seeing
ground targets because aircraft targets have far less
XEATHER DETECTION WITH AIRBORNE RADAR
reflection area or "effective cross section." Since radar Since the use of airborne radar for weather detection
receivers are already reaching the theoretical limits of involves air-to-air measurement, radar can provide the
sensitivity, improvement in this regard can be obtained pilot with more immediate and accurate information
only by inordinate increases in transmitter power and with regard to dangerous storm concentrations near his
antenna size. Even these latter alternatives would not aircraft than information relayed from the ground,
solve the problem because of the difficulty of separating thus weather detection is now considered a primary
the relatively weak aircraft reflections from the strong function of airborne radar.
ground reflections. Further, indication of position of As the speed of transport aircraft increases, there is
other aircraft requires measurement in the vertical as more and more need for prediction of dangerous turbu-
well as horizontal plane, and as a result requires use of lence along an expected flight path so that it may be
volumetric scanners, which scan in elevation as well as avoided. The turbulence associated with thunder-
azimuth. Such scanners introduce far more scanning storms, for example, can cause structural damage to
losses than are experienced with the normal ground aircraft traveling at high speeds. There is increasing
mapping radar, which scan in one plane only, so that evidence of the correlation between occurrence of such
range performance of the radar set is drastically re- turbulence and heavy localized precipitation in the
duced. form of rain and hail. Airborne radar can indicate the
presence of such precipitation, and it affords the only
effective means of avoiding such turbulence at night
- or during extensive low visibility weather. It will be-
come increasingly useful for this purpose, particularly
c32 during high speed let-down procedure from high alti-
sa: 1/ / tudes, which will be necessarv to meet the schedules of
z the future. The best measure of its usefulness will be
the accuracy with which it can present the position of
m / j( such storm phenomena. Accordingly, much of what
° 16 S SPACING has been said about navigational accuracy applies to
w x weather detection. Thus for storm avoidance, or par-
z SIMILE AIRCRAFT R s ticularly for showing soft spots between regions of high
S 8 O ORIGIN turbulence, good bearing resolution is required. In
-4
m
~~~~~~0
MILE
AIRCRAFT addition, however, radar used for this purpose must
SPACING also show the extent or distance measured in range of
-I -5
(R) RANGE TO OBD GROUND STATION (N.M.)
LO510 5 100 200 such storm precipitation. Unfortunately, such precipi-
tation, in addition to providing strong and character-
Fig. 7-Bearing errors between aircraft (common grouniid istic echoes, greatly attenuates microwave propagation.
reference).
This attenuation increases rapidly with frequency in
the range of frequencies useful for airborne radar. This
The obvious solution to the problem of using radar attenuation has the effect of emphasizing the nearest
to indicate the position of other aircraft in commercial precipitation intensity and obscuring the true extent
air navigation is to equip all aircraft with cooperating of the precipitation, creating a misleading indication.
radar beacons. When this is done, no difficulty is ex- For weather penetration, therefore, the lower radar
perienced in seeing other aircraf t until line of sight frequencies appear more suitable. However, at these
ranges are exceeded. Extremely small (10-pound) lower frequencies the bearing resolution for a given
beacons would be sufficient for range of 10-20 miles, antenna size (which is less than the range resolution)
while existing beacons (75-pound) provide operation is still poorer.
beyond 400 miles. With such beacons "cross banding " T pical x-band airborne radars operating at about
is generally used so that no problems exist with inter- 10,000 mc readily detect storm concentrations as far
fering ground signals but simultaneous radar and beacon away as 200 miles, but when being flown near such
viewing is sacrificed. Also such beacons allow the readyT concentrations they will distort the true intensity of
use of pulse coding techniques that can solve the prob- the storm in depth. Similar radar designed for operation
lem of identification of other aircraft, and they can at 5,000 mc exhibits about 18 the attenuation per mile
provide channeling so that only desired aircraft are due to precipitation, but it has about half the bearing-
indicated. It should be remembered that radar beacons resolution. Such range distortion can be minimized
have trafic handling limitations as do the ranging bWv the use of automatic gain control circuitry similar to

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1954 Mannheimer: Airborne Radar as a Navigational Aid 9

that useful for showing overland contrast, but the it is believed that much of the future role of airborne
lower frequencies nevertheless will always show a radar will involve the use of cooperating beacons engi-
greater depth of precipitation in true proportions than neered to handle the necessary traffic.
will the higher frequencies. It can be seen from the foregoing that radar could
Weather can also be detected best by the use of long provide valuable aid to currently planned methods of
pulses and correspondingly small receiver bandwidths, navigation under approach and high-traffic conditions.
so that a compromise must be made also with regard It is, of course, not particularly suited at present to
to range resolution. For long-range weather detection, provide simple, readily followed directions for involved
transmitter pulse lengths of the order of five ,ts are holding and approach procedures, for which the OBD
effective, and range resolution is then limited to about system is being designed. On the other hand, it can pro-
0.4 nautical mile. Accordingly, much attention now is vide a "fail safe" orientation means under such condi-
being given to the best compromise in selection of fre- tions, and it is basically more accurate in measuring
quency and pulse length best used for weather detection the position of nearby aircraft. It should fulfill also
by radar. It is quite probable, however, that the pulse pilots' preference for having aboard a self-contained
lengths an(d frequencies used at present are not far navigational system by which the pilot can evaluate
from the optimum that can be obtained. the accuracy of, and exercise judgment in using, ground
control information; and it should, therefore, improve
FUTURE ROLE OF AIRBORNE RADAR the safety of flight operations. Now that airlines are
Until airborne radar is used extensively over estab- taking a positive interest in airborne radar, it is probable
lished routes, a truly meaningful operational evaluation that manv of its potentialities for commercial use will
of its effectiveness and a complete evaluation of its use be realized.
as a navigational aid cannot be made. It has been Several new applications of radar can be foreseen to
pointed out, however, that it is capable of navigational exist when cooperating beacons are used. Beacons afford
accuracies comparable with other forms of navigational the possibility of automatic identification by means of
aid using ground references, and that it is capable of coding techniques, and they allow good signal-to-noise
higher accuracy than other aids in air-to-air navigation. ratios. These two factors make it feasible to use "track-
It is also capable of indicating storm concentrations, while-scan" techniques of relatively simple nature so
and it will become increasingly useful in this regard. that smoothed positional error data may be derived
Much of its effectiveness for navigation depends on from the usual intermittent radar information regarding
recognition of suitable reference targets, and this may a specific target. In this way, continuous information
prove difficult without extensive operator training and suitable for aircraft control can be obtained with rela-
attention. T his difficulty in readily identifying naviga- tion to a specific navigational reference, while an over-
tional references is largely removed, however, if radar all picture of the surroundings is still maintained. It is
is used in cooperation with radar beacons. If this is believed that much of the future development of radar
done, far less difficult all-weather navigation, air-to- as an aid to air navigation will center about such beacon
ground and air-to-air, becomes possible. Accordingly, and "track-while-scan" techniques.

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