Radar warning receiver

Radar warning receiver (RWR) systems detect the radio emissions of radar systems. Their primary purpose is to issue a warning when a radar signal that might be a threat (such as a police speed detection radar) is detected. The warning can then be used, manually or automatically, to evade the detected threat. RWR systems can be installed in all kind of airborne, sea-based, and ground-based assets (such as aircraft, ships, automobiles, military bases). This article is focused mainly on airborne military RWR systems; for commercial police RWR systems, see radar detector.

Depending on the market the RWR system is designed for, it can be as simple as detecting the presence of energy in a specific radar band (such as police radar detectors). For more critical situations, such as military combat, RWR systems are often capable of classifying the source of the radar by the signal's strength, phase and waveform type, such as pulsed power wave or continuous wave with amplitude modulation or frequency modulation (chirped). The information about the signal's strength and waveform can then be used to estimate the most probable type of threat the detected radar poses. Simpler systems are typically installed in less expensive assets like automobiles, while more sophisticated systems are installed in mission critical assets such as military aircraft.

The RWR usually has a visual display somewhere prominent in the cockpit (in some modern aircraft, in multiple locations in the cockpit) and also generates audible tones which feed into the pilot's (and perhaps RIO/co-pilot/GIB's in a multi-seat aircraft) headset. The visual display often takes the form of a circle, with symbols displaying the detected radars according to their direction relative to the current aircraft heading (i.e. a radar straight ahead displayed at the top of the circle, directly behind at the bottom, etc.). The distance from the center of the circle, depending on the type of unit, can represent the estimated distance from the generating radar, or to categorize the severity of threats to the aircraft, with tracking radars placed closer to the center than search radars. The symbol itself is related to the type of radar or the type of vehicle that carries it, often with a distinction made between ground-based radars and airborne radars.

...
Wikipedia