Air Route Surveillance Radar
| Country of origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 1958 |
| Type | General Surveillance 3D radar |
| Frequency | L band |
| Range | 290 miles |
The Air Route Surveillance Radar is used by the United States Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration to control airspace within and around the borders of the United States.
The ARSR-4 is the FAA's most recent (late 1980s, early 1990s) addition to the "Long Range" series of radars, which are search radars with a range of at least 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi). The Westinghouse system is solid state and has a 250-nautical-mile (460 km; 290 mi) range. In addition, the ARSR-4 features a "look down" capability that enables the radar to detect aircraft attempting to elude detection by flying at low altitudes, advanced clutter reduction via hardware and software post-processing, and enhanced poor-weather detection of aircraft. A Beacon system, the ATCBI-6M (a monopulse system), is installed along with each ARSR-4. However, since the ARSR-4 is a 3D radar, it is capable of determining aircraft altitude independently of its associated Beacon (albeit less accurately).
ARSR-4 systems are installed along the borders and coastal areas of the CONUS, Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, the municipality of Yigo on Guam, and a training site at the FAA's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. They are generally unmanned, being equipped with remote monitoring of both the radar data and the status of the radar's health and environment.
The Raytheon-built ARSR-1 was introduced in 1958 had maximum range of 170 nautical miles; 320 kilometres (200 mi). The ARSR-2 was developed in the 1960s as a replacement for the ARSR-1, also operating in the L-band with a 200-mile range. From a users perspective the ARSR-1 and ARSR-2 function nearly identically. Components which had proved troublesome in the ARSR-1 were redesigned in order to improve the reliability of the ARSR-2. Existing ARSR-1 systems were then retrofitted with the more reliable ARSR-2 components. As of June 2012, approximately 60 ARSR 1/2 RADARS are still operating in the United States. Thirteen ARSR-1/2 systems have been replaced With modern Common ARSR systems. Despite their age, ARSR 1/2 RADARS are still maintained at high rates of reliability by FAA technicians. Electron tubes like the one Vice President Gore used in a televised interview to symbolize the need for FAA modernization were still in use nationwide, prior to the Common ARSR upgrade.
...
Wikipedia