Avro Anson Mk.

I (1936)
the anson was the first aircraft in the world to fly a complete airborne
radar (rdf-2) in august 1937. it was equipped with a modified emi
receiver, together with a lightweight transmitter and 1 kw portable
petrol generator unit. alan blumlein, a gifted inventor and designer,
working within the emi research department in the 1930s, was
responsible for taking airborne radar experiments to a stage where
operational systems were sufficiently reliable to give raf squadrons a
true night-fighting capability.

“the big echo” - an original painting by anthony Cowland

 PART

I
Overview of
Airborne Radar
1. Basic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2. Approaches to Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3. Representative Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
 Bristol Beaufighter (1940)

The first really successful radar-equipped fighter, piloted by

Flying Officer Glyn Ashfield, achieved its first kill on the night of
November 7, 1940. The AI Mark IV radar detected airborne targets
at a range of 5 to 6 km. The armament consisted of four 20 mm
cannons and six .30 calibre machine guns.
 1
Basic Concepts
from Hülsmeyer’s original radar patent, 1904

1.1 Echolocation
Across a period of more than 50 million years, the echolocat-
ing bat has perfected the technique of transmitting a sequence
of pulses and interrogating echoes. It depends on success for
its very survival, intercepting prey on the wing and identifying
sources of food in a complex background of unwanted reflec-
tions from debris such as leaves (or clutter). It is often accom-
plished in the presence of “jamming” from insects attempting
to avoid capture. This is truly a remarkable capability, honed
over time, enabling the bat to be one of the most widespread
species of mammal on Earth.

Less well-known is the inherent ability of humans to echolo-

cate, exploited so brilliantly by those who are sightless. These
extraordinary people can literally see with sound. Not only can
they dispense with the long cane but can even go cycling on-
or off-road! Try an Internet search for Daniel Kish and be pre-
pared to be amazed.

Using the same principle of echolocation, the pilot of a super-

sonic fighter is able to close in unerringly on a possible enemy
intruder, hidden behind cloud cover, perhaps 200 km away
(Fig. 1-1). How is it done?
Figure 1-1. Looking out through a streamlined fairing in the nose
Underlying all of these remarkable feats is a very simple prin- of a supersonic fighter, a small but powerful radar enables the pilot
ciple: detecting objects and determining their distances (range) to home in on an intruder hidden behind or in a cloud bank 200 km
from reflected echoes. The chief difference is that, in the cases of away. (Courtesy of US Navy.)
the bat and the blind man, the echoes are those of sound waves,
whereas in the case of the fighter they are echoes from radio
waves. This chapter briefly introduces the fundamentals of the
radar1 concept and shows how radar is put to practical uses, such 1. Radar = RAdio Detection And Ranging.
as detecting targets and measuring their ranges and locations.

A second important concept is also examined: determining

the relative speed (or range-rate) of a reflecting object. This is
achieved by measuring the shift in the radio frequency of the
reflected waves relative to that of the transmitted waves, a phe-
nomenon known as the Doppler effect. By sensing Doppler shifts,
3
4 PART I: Overview of Airborne Radar
Figure 1-2. Rather than rejecting echoes from the ground, as when
searching for moving targets, the radar may use them to produce
real-time high-resolution maps of the terrain, such as this image of
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. (Image courtesy of Air Force Research
Laboratory, Public Release Number: 88 ABW-12-0578.)
Transmitter
Antennas
Receiver
Display
Figure 1-3. In rudimentary form, a radar system consists of five
basic elements: a radio transmitter; a radio receiver; two antennas;
and a display.
radar not only can measure range-rates but also can differentiate
between echoes from moving targets and the unwanted echoes
(clutter) caused by reflections from the ground and other station-
ary objects. It will be further learned that, rather than rejecting
the echoes from the ground, the radar can alternatively use them
to produce high-resolution map-like images (Fig. 1-2) using a
technique known as synthetic aperture radar (SAR).
1.2 Radio Detection
Most objects such as aircraft, ships, vehicles, buildings, and ter-
rain features will reflect radio waves much as they do light
waves. Both types of waves are, in fact, the same thing: the flow
of electromagnetic energy. The sole difference is that the fre-
quencies of light are much higher. The reflected energy is scat-
tered in all directions, but a detectable portion of it is generally
scattered back in the direction from which it originally came.
At the longer wavelengths (lower frequencies) that many ship-
board and ground-based radars use and even at short wave-
lengths of airborne radars, the atmosphere is almost completely
transparent. By detecting the reflected radio waves, it is pos-
sible to “see” objects at night, in the daytime, and through haze,
fog, or clouds. This is a major reason that radar is so widely
employed.
In its most rudimentary form, a radar system consists of five
elements: a radio transmitter; a radio receiver tuned to the
transmitter’s frequency; two antennas; and a display (Fig. 1-3).
To detect the presence of an object (target), the transmitter
generates radio waves. These are radiated by one of the anten-
nas in the form of a collimated or focused beam. The receiver,
meanwhile, listens for the “echoes” of these radio waves, which
are picked up by the other antenna. If a target is detected, a
blip indicating its location appears on the display.
In practice, the transmitter and receiver generally share a com-
mon antenna (Fig. 1-4). This antenna can be rotated through
360°. If a target is detected, it is displayed as a function of
range and bearing on a plan position indicator (PPI) display.
The radar is usually located at its center, and each angle bear-
ing represents the antenna beam as it scans through all 360°.
Transmitter
Receiver
Antenna
Figure 1-4. In practice, a single antenna is typically time shared by the
transmitter and the receiver.
 CHAPTER 1: Basic Concepts 5

To avoid problems of the transmitter interfering with recep-

τ
tion, the radio waves are usually transmitted in pulses and
the receiver is turned off (blanked) during transmission. When Transmitted
Power Pulse
using a single antenna for transmitting and receiving, a device
known as a circulator or transmit/receive switch is used to
reduce transmitter interference. The rate at which the pulses T
are transmitted is called the pulse repetition frequency (PRF), Time
and the time between the pulse transmissions is the pulse rep-
Figure 1-5. To keep transmission separate from reception, the radar
etition interval (PRI). Thus, the PRF is the inverse of the PRI usually transmits radio waves in a sequence of pulses and listens for
(i.e., PRF = 1/PRI) (Fig. 1-5). the echoes in the time between them, T.

The term target is broadly used to refer to almost anything

that is to be detected: an aircraft, a ship, a vehicle, a man-
made structure on the ground, a specific point in the terrain,
rain (weather radars), aerosols, even free electrons. Like light,
radio wave frequencies used by most airborne radars essen-
tially travel in straight lines. Consequently, for a radar system to
receive echoes from a target, the target must be within the line
of sight (Fig. 1-6). Figure 1-6. To be seen by most radar systems, a target must be
within the line of sight. This is not the case for the target in the blue
Even then, the target will not be detected unless its echoes are
“shadow” zone, and this target will not be seen by the radar.
strong enough to be discerned above the background either of
electrical noise that always exists in the receiver or of simulta-
neously received echoes from the ground (ground clutter). In
some situations ground clutter may be substantially stronger
than the noise in a receiver.
Target
The strength of a target’s echoes is inversely proportional to Echoes
the target’s range raised to the fourth power (1/R 4). Therefore,
Signal Strength

as a distant target approaches, its echoes rapidly grow stronger

(Fig. 1-7).

The range at which they become strong enough to be detected Detection

Noise
depends on a number of factors, the most important of which
include:
Range
• The power of the transmitted waves
Figure 1-7. As a distant target approaches, its echoes rapidly grow
• The fraction of time during which power is transmitted (τ/T, stronger. Only when they emerge from the background of noise or
where τ is the pulse duration and T is the time between ground clutter are they strong enough to be detected.
emitted pulses, the PRI)
• The size of the antenna (the bigger the antenna, the nar-
rower and more intense the beam)
• The reflecting characteristics of the target (generally, the
bigger the target, the bigger the reflection)
• The length of time the target is in the antenna beam (more
echo pulses can be received)
• The number of scans in which the target appears (even
more echo pulses can be received)
• The wavelength of the radio waves
• The strength of background noise or clutter

Much as sunlight reflected from a car on a distant highway

Figure 1-8. Since the target return scintillates and fades, and noise
scintillates and fades, the strength of the echoes scattered in varies randomly, detection ranges must be expressed in terms of
the radar’s direction varies more or less at random (Fig. 1-8). probabilities.
6 PART I: Overview of Airborne Radar

Because of both this and the randomness of the background

noise, the range at which a given target is detected by the radar
will not always be identical. Nevertheless, the probability of its
being detected at any particular range can be predicted with
considerable certainty.

By optimizing the parameters that can be controlled, a radar

can be made small enough to fit in the nose of a fighter yet
detect small targets at ranges of the order of 200 km. Larger
radar systems on larger aircraft (Fig. 1-9) can detect targets at
even greater ranges.

Figure 1-9. Radars in larger aircraft like airborne warning and 1.3 Determining Target Position
control systems (AWACS) can detect small aircraft at ranges in
In most applications, it is not enough merely to know that a
excess of 500 km. (Courtesy of US Air Force.)
target is present. It is also necessary to know the target’s loca-
tion, that is, its distance (range) and direction (angle).
R = 1 (Round-Trip Time) × (Speed of Light)
2 Measuring Range. Range may be determined by measuring
1 10 the time it takes the radio waves to reach the target and return.
= × s × 300,000,000 m/s
2 1,000,000 Radio waves travel at essentially the speed of light, which is
= 1.5 km a constant. A target’s range therefore is half the transit time
(because the pulse has to travel to the target and back to the
Figure 1-10. The transit time is measured in millionths of a second receiver) times the speed of light (Fig. 1-10). Since the speed of
(μs). A transit time of 10 μs corresponds to a range of 1.5 km.
light is high, 300 million meters per second, ranging times are
generally expressed in millionths of a second (microseconds).
Transmitted
Pulse For example, a round-trip transit time of 10 microseconds cor-
Range responds to a range of 1.5 km.

The transit time is measured by observing the time delay

Target between transmission of a pulse and reception of the echo
of that pulse (Fig. 1-11), a technique called pulse-delay rang-
ing. To avoid echoes overlapping from targets closely spaced
Time in range, and hence appearing to be the return from a single
Pulse is Echo is target, the width of the pulse, τ, must be made sufficiently
Transmitted Received small. However, this may be insufficient to radiate enough
Figure 1-11. Usually a target’s range may be most easily energy to detect distant targets. Thus, to detect closely
determined by measuring the time between transmission of a pulse spaced targets at long ranges, pulses must be made wider.
and the reception of its echo. This dilemma is resolved by compressing the echoes after
they are received.

One method of compression, called chirping, is to linearly

Transmitter increase the frequency of each transmitted pulse throughout
its duration (Fig. 1-12). The received echoes are passed through
a filter, introducing a delay that decreases with increasing fre-
τ quency and thereby compresses the received energy into a
narrow pulse. A resolution of 30 cm or so may be obtained
Frequency

without limiting detection range, and this corresponds to a

chirp frequency span of approximately 500 MHz. This is dis-
cussed in more detail in Chapter 16.
Time

Figure 1-12. In a chirp pulse compression modulation, the Radars that transmit continuously (continuous wave, or CW)
transmitter’s frequency increases linearly throughout the duration, measure range with a technique called frequency modulation
τ, of each pulse. (FM). Here the frequency of the transmitted wave is varied as
 CHAPTER 1: Basic Concepts 7

R Elevation

l
gna ∆ f = kt
Si
ed ho
itt ∆f Ec 1
Frequency

m ’s t= ∆f
ns t
ra r ge k
T t Ta
c
R= t
2

Time Azimuth

Figure 1-13. In FM ranging, the frequency of the transmitted signal
is varied linearly, and the instantaneous difference, Δf, between the
transmitter’s frequency and the target echo frequency is sensed.
The round-trip transit time, t, to the target (the target’s range, R) is
proportional to this difference.
Figure 1-14. Angle between the fuselage reference axis and
the line of sight to a target is usually resolved into azimuth and
elevation components.

a function of time, and range is determined by observing the

lag in time between this modulation and the corresponding
a. Pencil Beam
modulation of the received echoes (Fig. 1-13). 3–4°

Measuring Direction. In most airborne radars, direction is

measured in terms of the angle between the line of sight
to the target and a reference direction, such as north, or b. Fan Beam

the longitudinal reference axis of the aircraft’s fuselage. This

angle is usually resolved into a horizontal component called
the azimuth and a vertical component called the elevation
(Fig. 1-14).
Figure 1-15. A pencil beam (a) is used for detecting and tracking
Where both azimuth and elevation are required, the beam aircraft, and a fan beam (b) is employed for long-range surveillance,
is given a more or less conical shape, called a pencil beam mapping, or detecting targets on the ground.
(Fig. 1-15a). Where only azimuth is required, as for long-range
surveillance, mapping, or detecting targets on the ground, the
beam may be given a fan shape (Fig. 1-15b).

Automatic Tracking. The goal is often to follow the move-

ments of one or more targets while continuing to search for
others. This may be done in a mode of operation called track-
while-scan. In this mode, the position of each target of interest
is tracked on the basis of the periodic samples of its range,
range rate, and direction obtained whenever the antenna beam
sweeps across it (Fig. 1-16).

Track-while-scan is ideal for maintaining situation aware-

Figure 1-16. In track-while-scan, any number of targets may be
ness. It provides sufficiently accurate target data for launch-
tracked simultaneously on the basis of samples of each target’s
ing guided missiles, which after departure can correct their range, range rate, and direction obtained when the beam sweeps
trajectories. It is particularly useful for launching missiles in across it in the course of the search scan.
rapid succession against several widely separated targets.
However, track-while-scan does not provide accurate enough
data for predicting the flight path of a target for a fighter’s
8 PART I: Overview of Airborne Radar

Boresight line

Figure 1-17. For tasks requiring precision, such as predicting the flight
path of a tanker in preparation for refueling, a single-target tracking
mode is generally provided.
Figure 1-18. In a conical scan, rotating the antenna’s beam about the
boresight line and sensing the resulting modulation of the received
echoes allows angle tracking errors to be sensed.
guns or for tanker refueling (Fig. 1-17). In such cases, the
antenna must be trained on the target continuously in a single-
target track mode.

To keep the antenna trained on a target in this mode, the radar

must be able to measure its own pointing errors. This may be
done in several ways. Older radar systems use a technique
called conical scanning in which the beam is rotated so that its
central axis sweeps a small cone about the pointing axis (the
boresight line) of the antenna (Fig. 1-18). If the target is on the
boresight line (i.e., no error exists), its distance from the center
θ
b Position A a of the beam will be the same throughout the conical scan and
Boresight
the amplitude of the received echoes will be unaffected by the
Error scan. However, since the strength of the beam falls off toward
Position B θe
Polar plot of antenna gain
its edges, if a tracking error exists the conical scan will modu-
versus azimuth angle, θ. θe ∝ (a – b) late the echoes. The amplitude of the modulation indicates the
magnitude of the tracking error, and the point in the scan at
Figure 1-19. In lobing, the antenna lobe is alternately deflected which the amplitude reaches its minimum indicates the direc-
to the right and left of the boresight line to measure the
angle-tracking error, θe.
tion of the error.

Alternatively, in a technique called sequential lobing the point-

ing error may be measured by sequentially placing the center
of the beam on one side and then the other side of the bore-
sight line during reception only (Fig. 1-19).

However, both conical scanning and sequential lobing suf-

θe
a Lobe A
d the antenna is divided into halves that produce overlapping
θe
b Lobe B
∆R = d θe
Figure 1-20. In phase-comparison monopulse, the difference in
the distance from a target to the antenna’s two halves is ΔR. Hence,
for small angles the difference in phases of the outputs a and b is
proportional to the tracking error, θe.
fer from inaccuracies due to pulse-to-pulse fluctuations in the
echo strength from a target. To overcome this, most modern
radars form lobes simultaneously, thereby enabling the point-
From
Target ing error to be sensed with a single pulse, called monopulse.
In one such version, called amplitude-comparison monopulse,
lobes. In another, called phase-comparison monopulse, both
halves of the antenna produce beams pointing in the bore-
sight direction. In phase-comparison monopulse, if a tracking
error exists, the distance from the target to each half will differ
slightly in proportion to the tracking error, θe. Consequently,
the error can be determined by sensing the resulting difference
in the radio frequency phase of the signals as received by the
two halves of the antenna (Fig. 1-20).
 CHAPTER 1: Basic Concepts 9

By continuously sensing the tracking error with either of these

Rω
techniques and correcting the antenna’s pointing direction to Relative –VR
minimize the error, the antenna can be made to follow the velocity VT
(VT – VR)
target’s movement very precisely.

While the target is being tracked in angle, its range and direction
may be continuously measured. Its range rate may then be com- Range
·
puted from the continuously measured range. Its angular rate— rate, R

the rate of rotation of the line of sight to the target—may be R

computed from the continuously measured direction. The target’s

range, range rate, direction, and angular rate allows its velocity Angular
and acceleration to be calculated, as illustrated in Fig. 1-21. rate, ω

Most radar systems now use electronic scanning. This blurs the VR
distinction between track-while-scan and single-target tracking
because the radar beam can be made to dwell for chosen peri- Figure 1-21. A target’s relative radial velocity may be computed
from measured values of range, range rate, and angular rate of line
ods, in contrast to mechanical scanning in which the dwell is
of sight.
for a fixed period determined by the scan rate.

1.4 The Doppler Effect

Approaching ambulance Apparent wavelength
A classic example of the Doppler effect is the change in pitch
of a vehicle as it passes by on the highway. As the vehicle
approaches the pitch is increased but as it passes and moves
away the pitch is reduced. This is because the apparent wave-
Receding ambulance Apparent wavelength
length is shortened when the vehicle is approaching and
lengthened when receding (Fig. 1-22).

Because of the Doppler effect, the radio frequency of an echo

received from an object is shifted relative to the frequency of Figure 1-22. In this common example of the Doppler shift, the
the transmitter in proportion to the object’s range rate. (Note: motion of a vehicle condenses the sound waves propagated ahead
this is the component of range-rate projected in the direction (increasing their apparent frequency) and spreads the waves
of the radars position, more commonly called radial velocity). propagated behind (reducing their apparent frequency).

Since the range-rates encountered by radar are a minuscule

fraction of the speed of radio waves (i.e., the speed of light), the
Doppler shift (or Doppler frequency) of even the most rapidly
closing target is so extremely slight that it shows up simply as a
pulse-to-pulse shift in the radio frequency phase of the target’s
echoes. However, like a laser, radar is a coherent sensor, and
this allows the phase shift imparted on an echo to be measured.
This phase shift is measured by cutting the radar’s transmitted
pulses from the same position on a continuous signal (Fig. 1-23).
The phase of the echo is referenced to the phase of the trans-
mitted pulse, which allows phase changes due to target motion Figure 1-23. By cutting transmitted pulses from a continuous wave,
the radio frequency phase of successive echoes from the same
to be measured for only each transmitted pulse. The rate of
target will be coherent, enabling their Doppler frequency to be
change of phase from a sequence of pulses provides a direct readily measured.
measure of the Doppler frequency or radial velocity of a target.

By sensing phase shifts associated with successive echoes, a

radar system not only can measure range rates directly but
also can expand its capabilities in other respects. Chief among
these is the substantial reduction, or complete elimination in
some cases, of clutter. The range rates of targets are gener-
ally quite different from the range rates of most points on
the ground and other stationary or slow-moving sources of
unwanted return. By sensing Doppler frequencies, a radar
10 PART I: Overview of Airborne Radar
Ground
Truck Airplane
0 them. The antenna beam commonly intercepts the ground at
Doppler Frequency
Figure 1-24. With MTI, echoes from targets and moving vehicles
on the ground are separated from ground clutter on the basis of
the differences in their Doppler frequencies. Generally, echoes from
aircraft and echoes from moving vehicles on the ground may be
differentiated as a result of the ground vehicles’ lower speed.
Figure 1-25. A radar’s velocity may be computed from Doppler
frequencies of three or more points on the ground at known angles.
2. This depends on the lookdown angle. Water and flat ground
directly below a radar system produce very strong returns.
system can differentiate echoes of moving targets from clutter.
This is called moving target indication (MTI). Often MTI is
separated into airborne moving target indication (AMTI) and
ground moving target indication (GMTI).
MTI is of inestimable value in airborne radars that must operate
at low altitudes or look down in search of aircraft flying below
the target’s range. Without MTI, the target echoes would be lost
in the ground return (Fig. 1-24). MTI can also be immeasurably
important when aircraft must fly at higher altitudes and look
straight ahead. Even then, the lower edge of the beam may
intercept the ground at long ranges.
Where desired, by sensing the Doppler shift a radar system can
measure its own velocity. For this the antenna beam is gener-
ally pointed ahead and down at a shallow angle. The echoes
from the point at which the beam intercepts the ground are
then isolated and their Doppler shift is measured. By sequen-
tially making several such measurements at different azimuth
and elevation angles, the aircraft’s horizontal ground speed can
be computed accurately (Fig. 1-25).
1.5 Imaging
The radio waves transmitted by a radar system are scattered
back in the direction of the radar in different amounts by dif-
ferent objects. Not much is scattered back from smooth sur-
faces such as lakes2 and roads. More comes from farmland,
brush, and trees, with strongest scattering tending to come
from man-made structures. Thus, by displaying the differences
in the intensities of the received echoes when the antenna
beam is swept across the ground, it is possible to produce a
pictorial map of the terrain, called a ground map or clutter
map. These are examples of lower resolution imagery, usually
with range resolution being different from cross range resolu-
tion (which is determined by the antenna beamwidth).
Radar maps differ from aerial photographs and road maps in
several fundamental respects. In the first place, because of
the difference in wavelengths, the relative reflectivity of the
various features of the terrain may be quite different for radio
waves than for visible light. Consequently, what is bright in a
photograph may not be bright in a radar map and vice versa.
In addition, unlike road maps, radar maps contain shadows,
may be distorted, and, unless special measures are taken
to improve azimuth resolution, may show only large-scale
features.
Shadows are produced whenever the transmitted waves are
intercepted by hills, mountains, or other obstructions and there
is no line of sight to the ground beyond. The effect can be
visualized by imagining that you are looking directly down on
a relief map illuminated by a single light source at the radar’s
 CHAPTER 1: Basic Concepts 11

R
B
Shadow ∆R
R
A
B
A

Actual Distance AB
Radar Map
Mapped Distance ∆R

Figure 1-26. Shadows leave holes in radar maps. At steep lookdown

Figure 1-27. At steep lookdown angles, mapped distances are
angles, shadowing is minimized.
foreshortened. Except for distortion due to slope of the ground,
foreshortening may be corrected before the map is displayed.

location (Fig. 1-26). Shadowing is minimal if the terrain is rea-

sonably flat or if the radar is looking down at a fairly steep
angle.

Distortion arises if the lookdown angle is large. Since the

radar measures distance in terms of slant range, layover occurs
when the apparent horizontal distance between two points at
the same azimuth is foreshortened (Fig. 1-27). If the terrain is
Proportional
sloping, two points separated by a small horizontal distance to Range ×
can, in the extreme, be mapped as a single point. Usually, the Beamwidth
Proportional to Pulsewidth
foreshortening can be corrected on the basis of the lookdown
angle before the map is displayed.

Because radar is a coherent sensor, reflections contain

Figure 1-28. With conventional mapping, the dimensions of a
speckle noise similar to lasers. This arises because of the
resolution cell are determined by the pulse width and antenna
coherent addition and subtraction of reflections from targets beamwidth.
composed of multiple scatters that create constructive and
destructive interference. This causes target reflections to vary
greatly with small changes in look angle.

The degree of detail a radar map provides depends on the abil-

ity of the radar to separate or resolve closely spaced objects in
range and azimuth. Range resolution is limited primarily by the
width of the radar’s pulses.

SAR Imaging. By transmitting long duration pulses and employ-

ing pulse compression, the radar may obtain strong returns
even from very long ranges and achieve range resolution as
fine as a 30 cm.

Fine azimuth resolution is not so easily obtained. In con-

ventional (real-beam) ground mapping, azimuth resolution
is determined by the width of the antenna beam (Fig. 1-28).
With a beamwidth of 3°, for example, at a range of 10 km the
azimuth resolution of a real-beam map may be no finer than
0.5 km (Fig. 1-29).

Azimuth resolution may be improved by operating at higher

frequencies or by making the antenna larger. But if exception- Figure 1-29. Raytheon’s SeaVue XMC Maritime Surveillance Radar
ally high frequencies are used, detection ranges are reduced detects small maritime targets in high seas and provides search in
by atmospheric attenuation, and there are practical limitations ISAR and SAR modes. (Courtesy Raytheon Company.)
12 PART I: Overview of Airborne Radar

on how large an antenna an aircraft can accommodate.

Patch Being However, an antenna of almost any length can be synthesized
Mapped
using SAR.
Points where pulses are
L transmitted correspond to Rather than scanning the terrain with a rotating antenna, SAR
radiators of a linear array.
maintains the radar beam in a direction orthogonal to the tra-
λ jectory of the aircraft. Each time the radar radiates, the pulse
Cross-Range Resolution = R
2L assumes the role of a single radiating element of the synthetic
λ = Wavelength
R = Range aperture. Because of the aircraft’s velocity, each element is a
little farther along on the flight path (Fig. 1-30). By storing the
Figure 1-30. With its antenna trained on a patch to be mapped,
returns of a great many pulses and combining them (much
each time the radar transmits a pulse it assumes the role of a single
radiator. When the returns of a great many pulses are added up, the
as a feed system combines the returns received by the radiat-
results are essentially the same as would have been obtained with a ing elements of a real antenna), the radar can synthesize the
linear array antenna of length, L. The mode illustrated here is called equivalent of a linear array long enough to provide azimuth
spotlight SAR. resolution as fine as 15 cm (Fig. 1-31).

Moreover, by increasing the length of the synthesized array in

proportion to the range of the area being mapped, the same
fine resolution can be obtained at a range of 100 km as can be
obtained at a range of only a few km. In fact, the resolution is
effectively independent of both range and wavelength. This is
one of the main reasons that SAR has become such an invalu-
able remote sensing and surveillance tool and that systems are
able to operate from spacecraft orbiting the Earth at distances
on the order of 750 km.

1.6 Summary
By transmitting radio waves and listening for their echoes,
a radar can detect objects day or night, and in all kinds of
weather. By concentrating the waves into a narrow beam,
radars can determine direction, and by measuring the transit
time of the waves they can measure range.

To find a target, the radar beam is repeatedly swept through a

scan. Once detected, the target may be automatically tracked
and its relative velocity computed on the basis of either (1)
periodic samples of its range and direction obtained dur-
ing the scan or (2) continuous data obtained by training the
antenna on the target. In the latter case, the target’s echoes
must be singled out in range or Doppler frequency, and some
means such as lobing must be provided to sense angular
tracking errors.

Because of the Doppler effect, the radio frequencies of the

Figure 1-31. This is a 15 cm, spotlight SAR image, of Stonehenge in
the UK, one of the best known prehistoric monuments in Europe.
Note, the long shadows cast by the ancient arrangement of stones
is due to illumination from the radar. The image is oriented with
North pointing downward. (Copyright QinetiQ Ltd.)
radar echoes are shifted in proportion to the reflecting object’s
range rates. By sensing these shifts, the radar can measure
target radial velocity, reject clutter, and differentiate between
ground return and moving vehicles on the ground. It can even
measure its own velocity.
Since radio waves are scattered in different amounts by different
features of the terrain, a radar system can map the ground. With
SAR, high-resolution map-like images can be made (Fig. 1-31).
 CHAPTER 1: Basic Concepts 13

Further Reading
Historical Background
S. S. Swords, Technical History of the Beginnings of Radar,
Peter Peregrinus, 1986.
E. G. Bowen, Radar Days, Adam Hilger, 1987.
L. Brown, Technical and Military Imperatives: A Radar History
of World War II, Taylor & Francis, 1999.
J. B. McKinney, “Radar: A Case History of an Invention,” IEEE
Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine, Vol. 21, No. 8,
Part II, August 2006.

Technical Background
S. Kingsley and S. Quegan, Understanding Radar Systems,
SciTech-IET, 1999.
G. R. Curry, Radar Essentials, SciTech-IET, 2012.
P. Hannen, Principles of Radar and Electronic Warfare for the
Non-Specialist, 4th Edition, SciTech-IET, 2014.

Test your understanding

1. What are the five elements comprising a
radar system?
2. What is meant by the terms PRF and PRI,
and what is the relationship between
them?
3. The round-trip transit time to detect
a target is measured to be 666
microseconds. How far away is the target
from the radar?
4. When should track-while-scan be used,
and when should single-target tracking
be used?
5. Name three techniques used to improve
angular accuracy in tracking radar
systems.
6. How is Doppler frequency (or radial
velocity) measured by a radar system?
7. What is the technique used to generate
high cross-range resolution in radar
imaging?