Fifty Years of Radar

After the almostsimultaneous, independent invention of radar in (similar to that used on the French liner 5.5.NORMANDIE
several countries of the world in the mid-l930s, radar development in the summer of 1935) [4, ch. 61.
progressed rapidly with its use by both sides during World War 11.
Since then, radar has been growingthroughthe years inboth By September 1935, Dr.Rudolph KOhnold, headofthe
capability and in applications. In this paper, highlights of the first German Navys signals research department, demonstrated
fifty years of modern radar development are briefly reviewed, on board ship a 600-MHz pulseradar to the German Navys
current areas of interest are mentioned, andillustrations of many of Commander-in-chief [5].
the radars of the 7980s are given.
In the Spring of 1935, GuglielmoMarconi was demon-
strating in Italy CW Doppler radar detection of vehiclesand
INTRODUCTION people [4, ch. 81.
Although it is hard to define a precise date for the origin - A group led by B. K. Shembel at theLeningradElectro-
physics Institute (latercalledtheScientific Research In-
of modern radar, its serious development began indepen-
dently and almost simultaneouslyin several countries of the stitute No. 9) demonstrated on October 22,1935 the detec-
world during the middle ofthe 1930s, about fifty years ago. tion of aircraft at a distanceof 5 to 6km usingaCW
Thus this Special Issue on Radar of the PROCEEDINGS OF THE Doppler radar at a wavelength of 25 cm (1200 MHz-todays
IEEE (February 1985) and the IEEE International Radar Con- l-band), with 8 Wofpowergeneratedby a split-anode
ference (May 1985) both occur, more or less, on the Golden magnetron, and two separate 2-m-diameter parabolic trans-
mitting and receiving antennas mounted side by side [6].
Anniversary ofmodern radar. Asan introductionto this
special issue, a brief review of the accomplishments of the - A bit later, in 1936, theDoppler
proposedandlaterdemonstratedby
radar principle was
Prof.K. Okabe in
past fifty years will be given, along with the current status
of radar. Japan [4, ch. 91.
Fifty yearsago, the following radar events were taking Each of thesecountriesdevelopedanddeployed some
place: form of military radar during World War It. It appears that
At the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC,A. the initial development in all countries was done in secret
Hoyt Taylor, L. C.Young, and Robert Page hadjustcom- without knowledge of what was being done elsewhere.
pleted tests of a 60-MHz pulse radar that detected aircraft
in December 1934 (but not with completesuccess since the RADAR DEVELOPMENTS OF THE FIRST FIVE DECADES
receiver was narrow-band andcaused stretchingofthe

-
echo 111, 121).
In Great Britain, Robert Watson-Watt,Superintendent of
the Radio Department of the National Physical Laboratory,
7 930s
The basic principle of radar was demonstrated by Heinrich
deliveredamemorandumtothe Tizard Committee in Hertz in 1888 [7]; and a working device for the detection of
February 1935 describing how radio waves could be used to ships, based on his experiments, was tested in Germany in
detect aircraft. He was allowed to proceed to demonstrate the early 1900s [8]. Nothing was done to exploit these early
in June 1935 what would now be called bistatic CW radar, demonstrations, even though for many years prior to the
followed in September 1935 bypulse radar detectionof actual invention of radar in the mid-1930s therewerere-
aircraft at a frequency of 30 MHz [I], [3]. ports of radio waves being reflected by objects. It can also
In February 1935, the French Navy arranged for compara- be argued that the basic radio technology needed for radar
tive tests of a 4-m-wavelength (75-MHz) bistatic CW radar existedor was known prior to the 1930s. It remained,
conceivedby Pierre David, an engineer at theNational however, until the mid-1930s before radar appeared in most
Radioelectricity Laboratory, and a 16-cm wavelength radar of the countries which hadagoodtechnological base in
radio.Apossible reason forthe surge ofsimultaneous
interest in radio detection at that time was the maturing in
Manuscript received October 12, 1984.
The author is with the Nwal Research Laboratory, Washington, the early 1930s ofthemodern airplane as along-range
DC 20375, USA. military bomber capable of causing significantdamage with

US. Government work not protected by US. copyright

182 P R O C E E D I N G S OF T H E IEEE, VOL. 73, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 1%

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its large payload. Thus it might besaid that radarwas
invented as a response to the modern bomber aircraft.
The 1930s found most of the major countries exploring
bistatic CW radar, which is characterized by the transmitter
andreceiver antennas beingwidely separated from each
other, Aircraft that penetrated between the transmitter and
receiver were detected by the Doppler beat between the
direct signal (from transmitter to receiver)and the signal
scattered by the target. (At the time, this was known as CW
Wave Interference.) Although the French and the Russian
Armies both deployed bistatic CW radar prior to their entry
into World War 11, theradiodetection of targets for im-
portantmilitaryapplication was not takenseriously until
the successful development of monostatic pulse radar. Bi-
static radar simply was too limited.
The first pulse radar reflectionsfromaircraftwere ob-
tained in December 1934 by the Naval Research Laboratory,
but thesewerenot fully successfulbecause the available
receiver was too narrow-band [2]. It remained untilApril
1936before N R L overcame thisproblem. The duplexer,
whichallowed a commonantenna to beused for both
transmitting andreceiving, was incorporatedby NRL in a
200-MHz pulse radar during July1936. This was a significant
accomplishmentthat was notduplicatedbyothersfor
several years. The first NRL radar demonstration atseawas
in April 1937, which led to the deployment by the US Navy
of an operational radar, theCXAM,starting in 1940.By
December 1941 (the time of the Pearl Harbor attack) there
were 79 radars of various types installed on US Navy ships
[91.
The US Armybeganpulse radar work in the spring of
1936 and conducted its first field test in December 1936 [I].
An operational system (the SCR-268)was service tested in
the fall of 1938.
GreatBritainstarted its developmentlaterthanthe US
but they accelerated rapidly, and successfully demonstrated
the first of their operational radar systems (the Chain Home)
by 1937. They were on 24-h operation by September 1938
11I.
The Soviets started radar development in 1934 and pro-
ceeded to explore three types of radars: 1) a bistatic CW
radar (RUS-1) thatoperated at awavelength of4m (75
MHz) with 35-kmseparationbetweentransmitterandre-
ceiver,and which was acceptedbythe Soviet military in
September 1939, 2) a pulse radar(RUS-2) operating at 4-m
wavelength with a maximum range of 150 km, accepted in
July 1940, and used for the direction of intercept aircraft,
and 3) experimentalanti-aircraftgunfirecontrol radars (at
frequencies as high as 2000 MHz) with ranges of from 12 to
20 km [6], [IO].
France followed two paths in radar development, both
CW. One, under the directionof Pierre David, was at longer
wavelengths (4m); it evolved into an operationalbistatic
CW system operating as a barrier, or fence.(David first
proposed this concept in 1928.) By operating more than one
barrier fence, target course and speed could be obtained. (A
singlebistaticCW fence onlyobtainsdetection, butnot
locationor speed, as the target penetratesbetweenthe
transmitterandreceiver.) The other was a 16-cm-wave-
length (microwave) CW system which had to be abandoned
because of low power. Although David proposed a mono-
S K O L N I K : FIFTY YEARS OF R A D A R
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static radar system in October 1938, the French did nothing
inthis area until theBritishdisclosedtheir own radar
developments to them in April 1939 [4, ch. 61.
Like the French and Russians, the Germans also experi-
mented with microwaves (13.5-cm wavelength) as early as
1934, but did not pursue them because of low power. The
first prototype of what was to become the widely deployed
German Freya early-warning radar(2.4-m wavelength)for
the detection of aircraft started in 1936.The German Navy
took delivery of its first 125-MHz Freyaradar in 1938 [5].
(The Freya had a range of from 80 to 150 mi against aircraft.
Its beamwidth was20.) A fire control radar, calledthe
Seetakt, operating at 375 MHz with a peak power of 7 kW,
was installed on thepocketbattleship Graf Spee in 1936
and was on-boardwhen she participated inthe Spanish
Civil War during the summer of 1938. This radar had a range
of 10 nmi againstlargeships [ I l l . TheGermansalso pro-
duced the Wurzburg gunlaying radar by the end of 1938.
Thisoperated at 560 MHzwith a 3-m-diameterreflector
antenna.TheGermanAir Force ordered 5000 Wurtzburg
radars [4, ch. 71. At the start of World War II, German radar
was quite good. One source[12,sec.1.31states that Ger-
man radar was somewhat ahead of US radar; another source
[5] said that i t s ground precision equipment was second to
none.
Except for the UKs Chain Home radar, which operated at
HF (25-30 MHz), the successfulradars of the 1930s were
characterized by operation atVHF andUHF. Most of the
Allied radars were at frequenciesfromabout 75 to 200
MHz, since this represented the limit of the vacuum tube
technology available at that time. (TheGermans operated
radar up to 600 MHz.) Although it might be looked upon as
routine today, operation at VHF in the 1930s was pioneering
and challenging. This frequencybandmightnot be too
attractive for modern radar because of i t s wide beamwidths,
narrowbandwidths, and highambient noise background;
but it neverthelessprovided a usefulcapabilitythat was
well appreciated at the time and widely applied.
One of the more significant developments to affect mod-
ern radar occurred at the end of the decade, in 1939, when
the high-power microwave cavity-resonator magnetron was
invented in England.
7 9405
The early 1940s saw the application (in World War 11) of
the pioneering VHF radar developments of the 1930s along
with the introduction of microwaves which was made pos-
sible by the British invention of the cavity magnetron. The
magnetron opened up radar to the higher frequencies that
allowed the major limitations of VHF to be overcome (by
providing narrow beamwidth and broad bandwidth). It per-
mitted the development of large ground-based air-surveil-
lance radars at f-band (23-cm wavelength) and S-band ( I O
cm), as well as physically small airborne radars at %-band(3
cm).
At the beginning of the decade, the US armed services
decided to continue to concentrate on the development of
VHF and UHF radar as begun in the late 1930s. The respon-
sibility for developing radars in the unexplored microwave
region of the spectrum was given to the newly formed MIT
Radiation Laboratory. (The decision to concentrate on mi-
183
crowave radar at MIT was made before the US had knowl-
edge of the development of thehigh-powercavity mag-
netron by the British [13, sec. 2.41.)The MIT Radiation
Laboratory was highly successful in applying the new mi-
crowave technology to military radar for air, land, and sea
applications. Approximately 150 distinct radar systems were
developed as a result of the Radiation Laboratory program
[13,sec. 2.11.As examples of the accomplishments of the
Radiation Laboratory, three microwave radars will be briefly
described: 1) the SCR-584 gunlaying radar producedby
General Electric and Westinghouse,2) the SCR-720 Airborne
Intercept (AI) radar manufactured by Western Electric Co.,
and 3) the Eagle (AN/APQ-7) airborne bombing radar built
by Western Electric.
The SCR-584was the first and most widely used micro-
wavegunlaying radar. It employedconicalscanning and,
with its 4" beamwidth, it had sufficient angular accuracy to
directanti-aircraft guns on target withoutthe needfor
searchlightsoroptics as was the case with theolder
sequential lobing VHF SCR-268 radar. The SCR-584 operated
at S-band(2.7 to 2.9 GHz) with a 6-ft-diameter parabolic
reflector antenna. Volume searchwas conducted by heli-
cally scanning the pencil beam to cover any 20" elevation
sector. The range against bomber aircraft was about 30 nmi.
The development of the SCR-584 commenced at the MIT
RadiationLaboratory in January 1941, a roof-top system
wentintooperation one month later, a mobiletruck-
mounted unit was demonstrated in December 1941, pro-
duction began in April 1942, the first production setwas
delivered on June 15, 1943, and the radar was first used in
combat early in 1944 on the Anzio Beachhead [13, sec. 3.41.
(Its introduction was quite timely since the Germans had
virtually silenced its predecessor, the SCR-268, by electronic
countermeasures. The introduction of the microwave radar
caughtthe Germans unprepared.)Nearly 2000 of these
radars were ordered. The SCR-584 was a fine radar. It could
be found in use for various diverse radar applications many
years after the end of the war.
It was realized quite early at the Radiation Laboratory that
microwave radar would make it possible to achieve, with
reasonable size antennas, airborne radar with narrow
beamwidths. The SCR-720 was an S-band (3.3-GHz) AI radar
used in nightfighteraircraft. The 29-in-diameter paraboloidal
reflector was rotatedcontinuously in azimuthandslowly
tilted in elevation (helical scan) to cover an elevation angle
of 25'. It had a I O " beamwidth, a peak power of from 100
to 150 kW, average power from 112 to 170 W, pulsewidth of
0.75 ps, 1575-Hz PRF, installed weight of 415 Ib, and was
supposed to have a range of about 4 nmi onfighters and 8.5
nmi on bomber aircraft [12,sec.15.21,[14]. Delivery of the
SCR-720 began in the spring of 1943 and several thousand
had been produced by D-day (June 6,1944).
There were many remarkable radars developed during the
war, but the Eagle high-resolution bombing radar
(AN/APQ-7) stands out as a product of innovative thinking
thatchallengedthe available technologyby its advanced
designand
capabilities. (The writer has sometimes
wonderedwhether such a radar would everhave been
developedanddeployedoperationallywithoutthe pres-
sures ofwartime exigency; that is, i f it had not been
successfully developed during the war it might never have
been evenattemptedduringpeacetimeconditions.) The
184
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Eagle AN/APQ-7 wasan X-band (9375-MHz) high-resolu-
tion radar for blind bombing at high altitude (40 kft). It had
a unique phased-arrayantenna, 16ft in length, which
produced a 0.4" beamwidth that could be scanned f30' in
azimuth at a rate of 1.5scansper second by mechanically
varyingthe width of its waveguidelinear-arrayantenna.
(This is called anEaglescanner or delta-a scanner.)The
pulsewidth could be as short as 0.4 ps. With peak power of
50 kW and average power of 30 W the radar could provide
images of cities atranges up to 160 mi. Total weight was
764 Ib. Work began in November 1941.Therewas much
scepticism about the approach within the Radiation Labora-
tory, except within the Eagle group itself, so that the project
was forced to work with low priority [13, sec. 6.51. However,
sound technical solutions were found to each of the prob-
lems and the Eagle was given its first flight test in June 1943.
InJune 1944,1660 sets wereordered. The Eagle radar
became operational too late to be used in Europe, but was
used with success in the Pacific.
As mentioned previously, the Army andNavy laboratories
concentrated their radar efforts at frequencies lower than
microwaves. An example is the US Navy radar calledthe
ASB, the first operational US airborne radar widely used for
bombing, detection of ships and surfaced submarines, and
airborne intercept. Over 26000 equipments were procured
(from 1942 to 1944), the largest procurement of anyradar
during the war [2]. Theradar operated at 515 MHz (UHF)
with a peak power of 5 to 10 kW and an average power of
about 4 W. The pulsewidth was 2 ps and the PRF was 400
Hz. Total weight was 120 Ib. identical Yagi antennas with
60" beamwidth were mounted under each wing. The two
antennas could be rotated individually through 90" by the
operator [14]. It has been said[13,sec. 3.11 thatthe ASB
"was one of the most successful of all ASV [airborne surface
search] radars."
It was noted previously that the Germans probably were
well ahead of any other country in radar development and
deployment at the start of World War 11. Britain and the US
acceleratedtheirefforts in the early 194Os, butnotthe
Germans. Radar development did not have high priority in
Germany during thewar. Near the end of 1940, the German
High Command thought the war would be won in a short
timeandthat existing radars would be adequate. They
stoppedall research that wouldnot producefinished
equipments in less than a year and many of the scientists
were drafted into the Army. This policy was in effect until
early 1943. By thetime the Germans realizedtheywere
behind, it was too late to catch up [5], [27].
At the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union,
45 RUS-1 bistatic CW radars had been manufactured by the
Soviets [6]. These were sent to the Far East and the Cauca-
sus. Production of the RUS-1 ceased with the start of
production of the RUS-2 and the R U S - ~ C both
, pulse radars.
They operated at 75 MHz with a peak power of 70 to 120
kW, I O - to 12-pspulsewidth, 900-Hz PRF, andbroad-
beamwidth Yagiantennas.The maximum radarrangewas
about 150 km. The RUS-2was truck-mounted for mobility
and employed separate transmitter and receiver systems on
separate vehicles, spaced about 300 m apart to provide
antenna isolation. TheRUS-2cwas able to operate with a
single antenna for both transmit and receive, making it a
more useful equipment. In addition to these two surveil-
P R O C E E D I N G S OF T H E IEEE, VOL. 73,N O . 2 , FEBRUARY 7 9 8 5
lance radars, the Sovietsused in the defense ofMoscow
and Leningradthe
experimental low-power microwave
anti-aircraft fire control radars that were available.
A large part of the Soviet radar development was carried
outin Leningrad.Leningrad became part of
thebat-
tleground and was under siege for most of the war, causing
the evacuation to the east of those engaged in radar devel-
opment. The evacuation causedserious disruption, but by
theendofthe war several factories had been able to
manufacture several hundred RUS-2 and RUS-2cradars [6].
The development of microwave radar that started during
the war in the US continued after the war was over but at a
much slower pace.The amplitude-comparisonmonopulse
tracker and the MTI (Moving Target Indication) radar, both
of which were started during the war, were advanced in the
late 1940s to wheretheycould be consideredusefulfor
application.Monopulse, because of its precision and its
relative immunity to some forms of ECM, is the prime radar
tracking technique available today. All modern air-surveil-
lance radar use some form of MTI todetect wanted moving
targets (aircraft) in the presence of large unwanted clutter
echoes from the land and sea.
The accomplishments of microwave radar during World
War II at theMIT Radiation Laboratory werethoroughly
documentedin animpressiveseries of 28 volumes pub-
lished by theMcCraw-Hill Book Co.at theendofthe
1940s. Unfortunately, other radar developments during
World War I1 were not documented in a similar fashion.
1950s
Although some of the radar pioneers from World War II
and the early 1930s continued to be involved inradar, many
hadgone to otherfieldsof work. The1950ssaw the
entering into radar development of the second generation
of radar engineers. The1950s builton theworkof the
preceding t w o decades to expand the technology. For ex-
ample,themonopulse radar principledeveloped in the
1940s was applied to the highlysuccessful AN/FPS-16 track-
ing radar. This was a precision instrumentation radar that
achieved an angular tracking accuracy of 0.1 mil, a capabil-
ity not easily surpassed even today.
One of the characteristic developments of the 1950s was
the return to lower frequencies, to VHF and UHF. During
the 1940s there was a rapidmarchupward in frequency
from HF and VHF to microwaves, all the way up to K-band
(about I - c m wavelength).However,interest in long-range
radar forreliableaircraftdetectionandthedetectionof
ballisticmissiles caused a return to VHF andUHF where
large average powers (megawatts) and large antennas
(hundreds of feet in linear dimension) could be obtained,
as well as better MTI and less rainclutterthan at higher
frequencies. Large radars during this decade also were em-
ployed for observations of the moon, aurora, meteors, and
Venus.
The high-power klystron amplifier was first used in radar
during thisdecade. The availabilityof a poweramplifier
allowed a significant change in radar architecture. It offered
considerably higher power than could be achieved with the
magnetron (as much as two orders of magnitude greater), it
could utilize more sophisticated waveforms than a simple
pulsetrain,and multiple devices couldbe operated in
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YEARSlicensed
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parallel to achieve evengreater power than from a single
tube. (The klystron amplifier had been invented before the
Second World War and had been described in the journal
of Applied Physics in 1939[15]; but its potential for radar
was not appreciated until a paper appeared in 1953 describ-
ing a 20-MWpeak-power S-band tubedeveloped for the
Stanford University linear accelerator [16].)
Pulse-compression waveforms were dlso introducedto
radar in the 1950s. The principle of pulse compression was
known much earlier, but it took until the 19505 to demon-
strate it in practical radar systems. (Pulse compression is the
use of a long pulse, with internal modulation, to obtain the
energy of a long pulse but with the resolution of a short
pulse.Bothfrequency andphase modulations have been
employed.) The first high-power radar demonstration of
pulse compression was with a phase-coded modulation in
which a long pulse was subdivided into 200 subpulses, each
with either a 0 or 180phase selected at random. The
linear FM (chirp)waveform was demonstrated later. Syn-
thetic-aperture radar (SAR) also made its appearance during
thistime. SAR is a techniqueforachievingresolution in
azimuth, or cross-range, comparable to the resolution that
can be achieved in range. It utilizes a relatively small side-
looking antennacarried by an aircraft (orby satellite) to
generate a strip map of the ground. The use of radar for
airborne weather-avoidance and ground-based weather ob-
servationalsostarted during thisperiod.Airbornepulse-
doppler radar, as it is known today, was first conceived in
the early 1950s and was employed successfully in the late
19505 as an operational look-down, shoot-down guidance
radar forthe Bomarc air-to-airmissiledeployedfor air
defenseby the Air Force.(This developmentreceived in
1984 the IEEE AES-S Pioneer Award [17].)
There also were some negativedevelopments in this
decade. The bistatic CW radar for the detection of aircraft
was rediscovered, installed in the DEW (Distant Early Warn-
ing)Line in theArctic as the AN/FPS-23; but was later
removed. Attempts were made to apply multistatic radar in
the Plato and Ordir ballistic missile detection systems, but
both developments were aborted.
The decade of the 1950s, probably more than any other
single decade, saw the advance of the theoretical basis of
radar. Prior to this time, radar design was based primarily (as
it should be) on engineering experience, skill, andjudg-
ment. The introduction of the theoretical aspects of radar
that occurred in the 1950s allowed a firmer basis for radar
design than had been available previously. Fortunately, the
theory developed for radar did not contradict the engineer-
ing practices that had evolved over the prior years. It not
only gave confidence in the existing engineering practices
developed from experience, but it showed how the radar
art could expand to its theoreticallimits. Not all ofthis
theoretical work was available in the open literature in the
1950s and some was classified; but it was in this decade that
radar theory was recognized as an important aspect of
designanddevelopment, andcame to be employedby
radar engineers. The theoretical concepts which began to
be appreciated during this period included the following:
Matched Filter: Thiswas originally introduced by D. 0.
North in aclassified report in 1943, andreprinted in the
PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE in July 1%3 [18]. It was inthe
1950s, however,thatthisconcept became much better
185
known [19]. North showedthatthere is an optimum re- US Air ForcesAN/FPS-85 satellite-tracking radar were put
ceiver filter shape which maximizes theoutput signal- into operation.The AN/SPS-33 was an 5-band phased-array
to-noise ratio; and hence, maximizes target detection. This radar with electronic(ferrite) phase shifters to steer the
is calledthematchedfilter. It has a frequency response beam in azimuth while frequency scan steered the beam in
functionproportionaltothe complexconjugateofthe elevation.The AN/FPS-85was the first large operational
spectrum, s*( f ) , of the radar signal s( t ) , where S( f ) is the array to steer the radiated beam in both angular coordinates
Fourier transform of s ( t ) . Almost without exception, every by means ofelectronic(7-bit diode) phase shifters. The
radar receiver is designed as a matched filter or as a close developmentofthe AN/FPSdSalso showedthe impor-
approximation. tance of the digital computer for the control of phased-array
Statistical Theory of Detection: j. Marcum, in a classical radar and that computer software can be a significant frac-
Rand Corporation report written in 1947, reissued in 1952, tion of total system cost.
and published in the IRE TRANSACTIONS ON INFORMATIONThe growth of digital technology in the late 1960s caused
THEORY in1960, clearlyenunciatedtheneed to consider a revolution in radar signal processingwhich is still continu-
radar detection on a statistical basis [20]. He showed that ing.Digital processingallowedthepracticalimplementa-
theprobabilityofdetection and theprobabilityof false tion of radar theory that had only been of limited utility
alarmhad to bespecifiedbeforethesignal-to-noiseratio when analog methods were the only ones available. Digital
required at the radar receiver could be determined. He also technology was introduced into radar quietly without the
showed the quantitative effectiveness of utilizing a number excessive exposure in the trade literaturethat sometimes
ofpulses(pulseintegration)fordetection. Prior to this, accompanies new technology. Designers were too busy
many predictions of radarrange did not correctly include incorporatingdigital processing into their radars and did
thesignal-to-noiseratio so thatthe measuredrange of not have time, or the need, to worry about advertising its
actual radars was often disappointingly less than predicted. promise. Except for some analogpulsecompression de-
Although Marcums report was unclassified and was widely vices, almost all signal and data processing is now digital.
knownthroughout the US radar community, it was of The special modifications to an MTI radar to allow it to
limited distribution, and not until 1960 was it published in operate. on an aircraft as an AMTl radarwere brought to
full in the I R E TRANSACTIONS ON INFORMATION THEORY along fruition during the 1960s with the deployment of the Navys
with Peter Swerlings extension to fluctuating targets. E2 AEW (Airborne Early Warning) radar in 1964. The success
Ambiguity Diagram: In a book published in 1953, P. M . of AMTl radar was due to its use of DPCA and TACCAR for
Woodward describedtheAmbiguityDiagram which is a motion compensation [23].(TACCARcompensates for the
plot of the output of the matched filter as a function of variation of the doppler frequency shift of the clutter echo
time and doppler frequency shift [21].The Ambiguity Di- and DPCA compensates for the spread in the clutter Dop-
agram portrays the ch.aracteristics of a waveform with re- pler spectrum due to the finite antenna beamwidth.) AMTl
gard to its ability to resolvetargets in range andrelative was first attempted during World War II, but it took almost
velocity, the accuracy with which range and relative veloc- 20 years to reliably detect aircraft targets over water with a
ity can be measured, and the ambiguities produced in the radar on amovingplatform.Ittook almostanother ten
determination of range and relative velocity. It is a pictorial years beforetheAMTltechniquecould besuccessfully
method for readily discerning the attributes of a particular extended to overland operation where the clutter is much
radar waveform. Woodward also introduced the mathemati- greater than over the sea.
cal statisticsconceptof inverse probability to radar and During the 1960s the NavalResearchLaboratory Madre
applied it to radar detectionandthepredictionof radar HF Over-the-Horizon (OTH) experimental radar, capable of
measurement accuracy. target detection out to 2000 nmi or more, pioneered in the
M T / Theory: The principle of MTI radarwas introduced demonstrationof thecapabilitiesof OTH radar that in-
during the war, but it was the classicalRand Corporation cluded the detection of aircraft, ballistic missiles, and ships,
Report of Emerson in 1954 which provided a firm theoreti- as well as the determination of sea state and wind condi-
cal evaluation of its limits and indicated how MTI radars, tions over the ocean [24].
their waveforms and processing, should be designed [22]. The era of satellitesthatstarted in the late 1950s also
He described the concept of the optimum MTI filter, the initiatedthe use of radar forthedetection andtrack of
use of transversal filters, range-gated filters, and staggered space vehicles. The first experimental radar used in this role
pulserepetition frequencies. Emersons reportremained was the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Millstone Hill UHFradar.
classified for some time and was not readily available.It has The AN/FPS-85, previously mentioned, was the first oper-
sincebeendeclassifiedandpublished.(Whenthereport ational phased arrayused for space object detection and
was classified, it was primarily of academic interest since tracking. The Spasur system, consisting of three high-power
signalprocessingtechnology had not advanced to where VHF fan-beam radars installed across the southern portion
the theory could be readily applied. Practical application of of the US, was used to detect satellites crossing the US. A
thetheorybecamepossible in thelate 1960s whenMTI modest, but novel, radar was installed in theGemini
acoustic delay lines were replaced by digital processing.) spacecarft for demonstratingrendezvous between a
spacecraft and other space objects.
The incorporation of ECCM to counterthedeleterious
1%
effects of hostile jamming was beginning to be of concern
The 1% are notedforthe first large electronically in the 1%. The radars of the Armys Nike-Hercules AAW
steered phased arrays and the start of the digital processing system (now available on the surplus market), were a good
revolution late in the decade. The US Navys AN/SPS-33 air example ofthe radarECCM philosophy of thattime. It
defense phased-array radar (installed on two ships) and the included an L-bandair-surveillance radar which operated

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with high average power over a wide band of frequency,
had war-time reserve frequencies, utilized a large antenna,
and hadcoherentsidelobe cancelers. In addition, it was
operated inconjunctionwith anS-band nodding beam
heightfinder, S-band acquisition radar, X-band trackers,
anda K,-band range-only radar, which madeECM even
more difficult.
The introduction of the coaxial magnetron in the 1960s
improvedthe performanceofthepoweroscillator mag-
netron,especially its stability. It has almostcompletely
displaced the conventionalmagnetron in applications where
a modest average power tube is the preferred power source.
1970s
The increased capability of digital processing that began
in the late 1960saccelerated in the 1970s. DigitalMTI
processing permitted the use of a large number of pulses
(or delay lines) to achieve the desired MTI Doppler-filter
characteristics. Staggered pulse-repetition-frequencyMTI
becamepractical.Automatic Detection and Track(ADT),
begun in the 1950s with vacuum tubes in the SAGE System,
benefited considerablybythe shrinkage in size andthe
increase in capabilityofferedbythesolid-stateminicom-
puter.Withthecomputer technologyofthe 197Os, any
radar could have its own ADT. Digital processing could be
applied to SAR to achieve airbornemapping in real time
instead of having to record in the air and process on the
ground as was necessary with optical processing.
Low-noise receiver front-ends first were demonstrated in
the 195Os, but the masers and parametric amplifiers avail-
able at thattime werenot too attractiveformost radar
applications. Ittook over twenty years forthetransistor
amplifier front-end to become the preferred technique in
the 1970s when a low-noise receiver was required.
The practicality of high-resolution pulse compressionwas
enhanced during this decade with the introduction of SAW
delay lines as the preferred approach for compressed pulses
of a few-nanoseconds duration.
Significant advances were made in airborneaircraft-sur-
veillance radar with the upgrading of the Navys E2 (AEW)
AMTlto anoverlandcapabilityby means ofimproved
signal processing, and by introduction of the Air Forces E3
(AWACS)pulse-doppler radar.
Thesuccess ofairborne
pulse-doppler radar depends on having an antenna with
very low sidelobes so as not to illuminate large undesired
clutter. The demonstration by Westinghouse of the ultra-low
sidelobe antenna with sidelobes reduced by more than two
orders of magnitude is one of the major factors that made
possible airborne pulse-doppler radar. Low-sidelobe anten-
nasare also desirable in applications where sidelobe jam-
ming is expected.
One interesting byproduct of radar development in the
Vietnam era that was advanced during the 1970swas the
use of wide-band VHF radar for underground tunnel detec-
tion. In i t s civilian applicationsthis radar technology has
been used forundergroundpipeandwiredetection, as
well as for scientific purposes [25].
In space, radar was used to aid the Apollo landing on the
moon and was employed in satellites as an altimeter to
measure the geoid and surfaceroughness, and as a scat-
terometer for determining surfaceroughness [26]. The Air
Forces Cobra Dane radar located at the tip of the Aleutians
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is an example of a large, flexible, high-resolution phased-
array radar designed to observe and track reentering ballis-
tic missile warheads. Radar has also beenimportantfor
cruisemissileguidance, such as used forHarpoonand
Tomahawk systems.
OF THE 1980s
DEVELOPMENTS
It is, of course, premature to say what will characterize
the radar developments of the current decade.There are,
however, some trends. This will be the decade when the
hopes oftheproponentsof largephased arrays will be
tested by the serial production of the Armys Patriot, Navys
Aegis, andAir Forces B-1B phased-array radarsystems.
Solid-state transmitters are being introduced at L-band and
below in such radars as the US Marine Corps AN/TPS-59,
the Air Force AN/FPS-117, and the Marconi Martello (in all
three, the L-band transistors are distributed on the rows of
arotating arrayantenna); theAir Force PavePaws (with
UHF solid-state transmit/receive modules at each element
of a large phased array); the medium range Navy AN/SPS-40
(where the UHF vacuum-tube transmitter is being replaced
with a solid-state transmitter with no change in the wave-
form);and the VHFSpasur satellitesurveillance system
(which requires a total average poweroftheorderof 1
MW). Pulse-doppler processing is being added to weather
radar (Nexrad) to obtain a component of the wind speed in
addition to measurement of rainfall. With the introduction
of VHSIC later in the decade, it is expected that improved
signalprocessingcapabilities will be achieved. In the fu-
ture, radar might be able to acquire more information about
the nature of the target than simply its location. The field of
remote sensing of the environment i s especially concerned
with the extraction of target information. There is also radar
activity in space forremote sensing, especially SAR em-
ployed from the Shuttle.
CURRENT RADAR APPLICATIONS
The initial development of radar was the result of military
interests,andmost of themajordevelopmentsthat have
occurred during the fifty years of radarhave been at the
initiation of, and financed by, military needs. Radar is used
in the military for surveillance and tracking of air, sea, land,
and space targets from air, sea, land, and space platforms. It
is also used for navigation, including aircraft terrain avoid-
ance andterrainfollowing. It is importantthatamilitary
radarbe able to perform its mission in spiteof adverse
conditions, electronic countermeasures, and being a target
forhostileweapons. it must be availablefor use when
needed,just as is thelocalfire-fightingcompany.Unlike
civilian radars, military radars must be capable of detecting
targets that try to avoid detection; e g , those that fly very
low, very high, very fast, or try to make rapid manuevers.
Many of the techniquesandapplicationsof radar first
developed for the military have found their way into the
civilian sector. Radar technology has had considerableef-
fect on other technologies including terrestrial and satellite
microwave communications, navigation systems, electronic
countermeasures, sensors for industrial control, radio astro-
nomy, and microwave spectroscopy.
An interesting civilian application of radar is the remote
sensing of the environment. This includes such routine
187
applications as observation of the weather and ionospheric
sounding, two applications where the radar engineer was
probably not even aware of the term remote sensing of
the environment when these equipments were first devel-
oped anddeployed. Thesame is probablytrueofthose
who first used radar fortheinvestigationofmeteorsand
aurora. Remote sensing from space has been considered for
many applications and several different radar systems have
been tested for various purposes. Spaceborne-radar remote
sensing, however, has yet to reach thepoint where it is
something with enough interest and potential so that it is
employed on a routine basis, as is weather radar. Commer-
cial applications of radar remote sensing (those where an
investor is willingto risk hiscapital in returnfor some
monetary gain) have been rare, but there are two that might
bementioned: 1) petroleumcompanies in the pasthave
used both conventional high-resolution side-looking radar
and synthetic-aperture radar for determining regions of the
world wheregeological features showpromiseof oil de-
posits,and 2) powercompanies use high-resolutionim-
pulse radar to probeundergroundforburiedpipesand
power lines. Radarhas also proved to be of considerable
value to ornithology and entomology.
Ground-based radar is employed for en-route tracking of
Fig. 1. TERRASCANTM,a portable down-looking radar for
the detection and location of metallic and nonmetallic pipe
buried in the ground to a depth of 10 ft. A pulsewidth of less
than 1 ns is achieved with a uniformfrequencyspectrum
from 30 MHzupto approximately 1 CHz. The antenna
consists of twodipoles, oriented perpendicular to each other,
one for transmit and the other for receive. (Courtesy Micro-
wave Associates, Inc.)
188
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aircraft and at the major airports of the world for the safe
controlof airtraffic.Commercialairborne radar provides
the altitude of the aircraft, indicates regions of rain to be
avoided, determines the aircrafts velocity vector (doppler
navigation), and identifies ground features. All large ships at
sea carry one or more radars for collision avoidance and
navigation. These are among the cheapest of radars, are the
most reliable, and one of the most widely used (in terms of
numbers).There i s also, of course, the well-known and
widely used police radar formeasuringvehicle speed. In
space,radarsareused for spacecraftrendezvous, docking,
andlanding, as well as forremote sensing of the earths
environment and planetary exploration.
OPERATIONAL RADARS OF THE 1980s
Figs. 1 to 29 are a sample of radars now operating,or
which will be operating, during this decade. The examples
shown are not all that could have been included. Space, as
well as a lackofcomplete information available to the
author, limit the number that can be included. The author
apologizes in advance for any inadvertent omissions. Radars
illustrated in the other papers of this issue are not included
here.
THEFUTUREOF RADAR
It i s relatively easy to predict what might be available in
radarsystems to be deployedthree to five years hence,
since these systems are already in the development pipe-
line (it sometimes takes up to fifteen years or more from
start of development to extensive operation in the field).
O n the other hand, it is not easy to predict the long-term
future of a technology like radar; it is foolish to attempt to
do so, unless it is written in disappearing ink. One of the
difficulties in predictingfuture radar is thatunforeseen
developments can appear (and usually do) from other tech-
nicaldisciplines or from a newtechnology notknown
previously. This has happened many times. Examples from
the past of suchunpredicteddevelopmentsincludethe
high-power klystronamplifier, geodesicradome, ferri-
magnetic materials, the transistor, the low-noise amplifier,
SAW delaylines,wide-bandmagneticrecording, mini-
computer, and digital processing technology. It should be
Fig. 2. KR-IOSP, a K-band traffic radar capable of measuring
the speed of a vehicle when the radar is either stationary or
moving. (Courtesy Kustom Electronics, Inc.)
P R O C E E D I N G S O F T H EIEEE. VOL. 73. NO. 2, FEBRUARY 1955
Fig. 3. The Space Shuttle K,-band rendezvous radar with a
detection range of 12 nmi against unaugmented targets and
300 nmi for cooperative, augmented targets. The radar em-
ploys a low-PRF pulse-doppler,frequency-hopping wave-
form. The TWT amplifier produces up to 50-W peak power
with a duty cycle of up to 0.2. The 3-ft-diameter parabolic
antenna has a 1.6' beamwidth. When not used as a radar,
the equipment can be employed in a communications role.
(Courtesy Hughes Aircraft Co.)
Fig. 4. Transmitantenna ofthe AN/FPS-118 HF over-the-
horizon (OTH) backscatter radar designed to detectand
trackaircraft atranges from 500 to 1800 nmi. Radars with
180" of coverage will be installed on both the east and west
coasts of the U.S. The transmit antenna is3630 ft in length,
and the separate receive antenna is5229 ft. The radar can
operateoverthefrequency range from 5 to 28 MHz. The
experimentalversionofthis radar employed an FM/CW
waveform and had a transmitter average power greater than
1 M W . (Courtesy General Electric.)
expected that the future will offer other examples of now
unknown serendipitous developments from other technolo-
gies that might have a profound influence on future radars.
Also, new needs arise that were previously unanticipated;
such as thosethat appeared with the introduction of the
satellite and the use of space.
Rather than guess what future radar will be, it is deemed
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Fig. 5 . Artist's sketch of a version of the AN/TPS-63radar
mounted underneath an aerostat to detect targets in clutter
out to the maximum radar range of 160 nmi. The land-based
AN/TPS-63 mobile radar operates at L-band and has an MTI
improvement factor greater than 60 dB. (Courtesy of
Westinghouse.)
Fig. 6. AN/SPS-49 L-band long-range air-surveillance radar
for naval application. (Courtesy of Raytheon Company.)
wiser to describe some ofthecurrenttechnical issues
related to radar that canhavean effect on future capabili-
ties.
Clutter: Much is known about land, sea, weather, and
other clutter, but there does not now exist the "definitive
handbook"thatprovides all one needs toknow about
clutter and which would make it unnecessary to do any
furtherclutter measurements. Itwould seem to be a
worthwhile project to achieve such a goal.
Target Information: Radar in the pasthas been a "blob"
detectorproviding only target location. The information
potentially available in the radar echo should be capable of
providing more than target location. Theory indicates that
the target size, shape, andsurface propertiesmight be
distinguished.
Transmitter: There has been little new development in
high-power microwave tubes during the past twenty years.
This might be due to there being nothing left to be accom-
plished or thatthere has notbeensufficientinnovative
research undertaken. The current solid-state power device
189
 saturated technology or no one has taken a hard look at
possibleimprovements.Both thepowertube and the
mechanically scanned antenna will continue to be used in
future radars; hence, it is important to be alert for potential
improvements.
Phased-ArrayRadar: There has been much money and
time spent on the development of the phased-array radar,
andthere are many examples of success. However, the
prediction heard in the 1960s that all radars in the future
will be phased arrays has not materialized, and is not likely

, _

Fig. 7. 5-band AN/TPS-43 long-range (240-nmi) radar

equipped with an ultra-low-sidelobe antenna (ULSA) t o re-
duce susceptibility to jamming and improve survivability to
an ARM attack. It i s frequency agile over a 200-MHz band.
The AN/TPS-70 is a variant for the international market that
features a reduced-height low-sidelobe antenna permitting
faster erection and operation in higher winds, programmable
processor, andbetterperformance in clutter (50-dB MTI
improvement factor). Anotherrelated radar is the variable
update-rate Vigilant, an S-band pulse-doppler radar (instru- Fig. 9. TRS 2215D mobile electronic scan 3D 5-band radar,
mentedto 60 nmi),that provides both target plotsand with 180-nmi range on 2-m2 target. The 4.8- by 3.2-m an-
tracks. (Courtesy Westinghouse.) tenna rotates at 6 rev/min,andemploys circular polariza-
tion. (Courtesy Thomson-CSF.)

Fig. 8. ARSR-3 l-band en-route air traffic control radar with

42- by 22-ft antenna. (Courtesy Westinghouse.)

Fig. IO. The AN/FPS-117 Minimally Attended Radar, similar

isa strongcompetitor to the power tube at frequencies to the AN/TPS-59,isan I-band 3D Air Defense Radar that
below L-band, and it has some important advantages. How- employssolid-state transmitter modules ateach ofthe 44
ever, it cannot do some of the things possible with power rows of its 24- by 24-ft antenna. The total transmitter peak
tubes. power is24.75 kWwith a maximumduty factor of 16
Mechanical Reflector Antennas: As with the microwave percent, over a 10-percent agile bandwidth. Coverage i s from
5 t o 200 nmi, and up to100-kft altitude. The MTBF is said to
powertube,the mechanically scanned reflector antenna be better than1076 h with a 30-min MTTR, and with 35 h per
has not seen much advance in recent years. Similarly, the year of periodic maintenance time. (Courtesy General Elec-
lack of new concepts canbedue to either it being a tric.)

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O C E E DRestrictions IEEE, V O L 73,NO. 2, FEBRUARY 1985
apply.
to do so in the foreseeable future. This should not detract
fromthe factthat phasedarrays can have animportant
place in radar. The phasedarray could have even greater
application if it could be made more economical. Perhaps a
new, now unknown, approach to agile beamsteering i s

Fig. 13. ASTRE,K,-band airport surface control radar,capa-

ble of 6- by 8-m resolution at a range of 1500 m. Its 4- by
0.55-mantenna has a 0.33" beamwidthand rotates at 60
rev/min. The insert shows theradome-enclosed antenna
mounted on a tower in Mexico City. (Courtesy Thomson-
CSF.)
Fig. 11. AN/SPS-48E long-rangeshipboard frequency-scan
3 D radar that operates at S-band. Compared to its predeces-
sor, the AN/SPS-48C, it provides very low sidelobes, in-
creased transmitter power, energy management, state-of-the-
art signal processing, and improved reliability. (Courtesy ITT
Cilfillan.)

Fig. 14. The IPD/TAS (Improved Point Defense/Target

Acquisition System)is a short-medium range 2Df-band
radar for naval combat ships. (Courtesy Hughes Aircraft Co.)

needed t o makethetechnologymore universal. Another

Fig. 12. SMART(Signaal MultibeamAcquisition Radar for
Targeting), a 3 D S-band air-surveillance radar that employs
digital beam-forming to generate12 independent elevation
beams providing simultaneous gaplesscoverage from 0 ' to
90" elevation. Receivingantenna beams are 2' in azimuth by
9' in elevation, rotating at 30 rev/min. A range of 65 km is
obtained with 80-percent probability of detection against a
I-m2, Swerling Case 1 target. (Courtesy Hollandse Signaalap-
paraten B. V.)
potential area of interest is theconformal array, whose
radiators conform t o a nonplanar (or arbitrary) surface, but
this is something that is not now available to the degree
one might wish.
Coverage: It is usually desired to have the radar cover a
large area of observation, but microwave radar is limited by
the curvature of the earth. To increase coverage, a radar can
be elevated on a tower, or operated in a helicopter,bal-
loon, blimp, aircraft, or spacecraft. The higher the altitude

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Fig. 15. Artistconceptionofthenew phased-array radar
system for the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System
(BMEWS), based on the Raytheon UHF Pave Paws radar. The
two-faced, 92-ft phased-array antenna has an 84-ft aperture
with 2560 activeelementsper face.The solid-state trans- Fig. 17. AEGIS AN/SPY-1A 5-band radar system onboard
mit-receive modules are similar to those developed for Pave theCC-47 (USS TICONDEROCA). Each ofthe four fixed
Paws. The radar i s to provide warning of a mass ICBM attack phased-arrayantennascontainabout 4ooo radiatingele-
on thecontinentia1 US or IRBM/SLBM attackdirected to- ments. (Courtesy RCA.)
ward the United Kingdom and NATO forces. Initial operat-
ing capability is said to be in late 1986. (Courtesy Raytheon Reliability: Themost reliableof radars typicallymight
CO.) have mean-time-between failures (MTBF) of about 800 to
12W h. It is more usual for radars, especially complex ones,
to have MTBFs almost an order of magnitude less. Although
considerable attention is often given toreliabilityduring
manufacturing,almostnoattention is paidtoreliability
during the conceptual design stage whenthe basicradar
architecture i s evolved. In applicationswhere it is ab-
solutely necessary to have a radar working reliably, different
approaches have been taken. NASA, for example, in build-
ing a one-of-a-kind space radar, employsthehighly suc-
cessful reliability methods devised for space programs. The
commercialairlines enhance avionicsreliability by con-
servative design (such as operating components well below

Fig. 16. CobraJudy (AN/SPQ-11) shipborne phased-array

radar for the collection of exoatmospheric and endoatmo-
spheric data o n foreign ballistic-missile reentry vehicles. This
radar complements the exoatmospheric data-gathering Cobra
Dane f-band phased-array radar installed in theAleutians.
The Cobra Judyconsists of a single-face octagonal array, 22.5
ft i n diameter, installed on a mechanically rotatable mount
on thestern ofthe ship. Thearray containsabout 1 2 W
elements. (Courtesy Raytheon Co.)

the greater the range to the horizon, and the greater must
bethepower andtheantennaaperture.However,the
higherthealtitudethemoredifficult it is to carrylarge
power and a large antenna. Microwaveradar in space offers
the potential for worldwide coverage, but at great expense.
Many of those interested in radar for the remote sensing of
theenvironmentdepend heavily on satellite-borne radar
(SBR). SBR i s also a candidate for the worldwide detection Fig. 18. The C-band phased-array radar (AN/MPQ-53) of
of ships on the ocean. HF over-the-horizon (OTH) radar can the Patriot Air Defense Missile System, The system performs
search, target detection, target track, identification, missile
extend coverage out to almost 2000 nmi on a single hop track, guidance, and ECCM. The 8-ft-diameter space-fed lens
(ionospheric refraction) and is a good method for detecting array contains approximately 5000 elements with 4-bit ferrite
and tracking aircraft over the ocean. phase shifters. (Courtesy Raytheon Co.)

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THE IEEE, VOL. 73. NO. 2. FEBRUARY 1985
192 PROCEEDINGS
their ratings). The Air Traffic Control Radars of the FAA have VHSICseem to bedescribable as doing more of what is
very little downtime by operating two radars simulta- already being done. This is usuallythe case for any new
neously so that at least one of the two is always operating technology,but it wouldnot be surprising if, a decade
while theother is beingrepaired. Thisresults in high hence, VHSIC is being used to achievesome new radar
availability, defined as the percentage of the time the radar capability not now being pursued. It is possible, however,
is operating.Reliability,availability,andthecompanion to be "carried away" by the
promiseof large-signal
maintainability need to be an integral part of initial system processing. Radar signalprocessorscan, if unchecked, be
design. large, consume large power, and be a major contributor to
Signal a n d D a t a Processing: Digitaltechnology has al- radar unreliability.
lowed significant new capabilities in signal and data Operator: The radar operator has had a major role in the
processing, and VHSIC offers the promise of even greater past in extracting and using the information available from
performance.Most of theproposed radar applicationsof the radar. With automated detection and tracking, as well
as improved signalprocessing thateliminatesunwanted
echoes, the role of the operator is changing. The operator's
role is something that needs to be watched as more radar
processing is automated.
Size and Weight:Many radar applications, such as in
aircraft or space, cannot tolerate large size and weight. Size
and weight can be reduced with new technology; but just

Fig. 19. SGT York DfVAD Radar, whichevolvedfrom the

AN/APG-66 radar used in the F-16 aircraft. This X-band
coherent radar employs low PRF pulse-doppler processingto
simultaneously detect, track, and identify pop-up or hover-
ing helicopters,fixed-wing aircraft, and lightlyarmored
ground targets. (Courtesy Westinghouse.)

Fig. 2l. AN/APC-65multimissionX-band radar forthe

F/A-18 aircraft that includes both air-to-air and air-to-surface
modes,all-aspectaircraft target detection, and multitarget
track. (Courtesy Hughes Aircraft Co.)

Fig. 20. Goalkeeper automatic

weapon system for the Fig. 22. AN/APC-67 Multimode Radar for the F-20
short-range defense of ships against high-speed missiles and Tigershark tactical fighter aircraft. The radar operates over a
aircraft, showninstalledin theNetherlandsfrigate HrMs 200-MHz band at X-band with a 200-W average power TWT
Callenburgh. A coherent X-bandradar is employed for search, transmitter and a flat-plate slotted array,12.5 by 20 in. Its
and dual-frequency X- and K,-band radars with a l-m-diam- total weight i s 270 Ib and occupies 3 ft3. Therange on a
eter Cassegrain antenna performs target tracking. (Courtesy fighter-size target is 31 nmiin the air-to-airlook-down
Hollandse Signaalapparaten B. V.) mode. (Courtesy General Electric Co.)

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 . ... . - ..-_^___"I

Fig. 23. The AN/APQ-156 is a K,-band airborne multimode radar forthe A-6A attack
aircraft. (Courtesy Norden Systems, United Technologies Corp.)

Fig. 24. AN/APS-137, an improved version of the AN/APS-116 periscope detection radar,
with a long-range maritime surveillance mode. (CourtesyTexas Instruments.)

as with reliability, size andweight constraints must be There is not likely to be a mass return to these bands, but
considered during the early stages of radar concept design. there are specialized applications which can benefit from
Radar Outside the Microwave Region:Radarwas used operation at thelower frequencies. HF over-the-horizon
in the 1930s at VHF and HF, below microwave frequencies. radar i s a good example.There has been considerable

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G S O F T H Eapply.
Fig. 25. AN/APQ-164 Offensive Radar System (ORS) for the 6-16 bomber, which evolved
from the EAR (Electronically Agile Radar) andtheAN/APG-68 (F-16 aircraft radar).The
X-bandlow-observableelectronically scanned phased-array antennaallowsmultimode
operation for high-resolution SAR ground mapping and automatic terrain following and
terrain avoidance. (Courtesy Westinghouse.)

Fig. 27. LANTIRN (LowAltitude,Navigation, Targeting, In-

frared at Night) Terrain Following Radar that provides strike
aircraft such as the F-16 and A-IO with under-the-weather
autonomous day/night navigation capability to enable the
pilot to fly atvery low altitudes in hostile ECM environ-
Fig. 26. AN/APN-232 solid-state FM/CWCombinedAl- ments.
titude Radar Altimeter (CARA) that operates at a frequency
of 4.3 GHz with a power of 1 W. The predicted MTBFis
greater than 2000 h. In the figure, from left to right are the
InterfaceAdapter, Receiver-Transmitter, HeightIndicator,
TypicalInterfaceAdapter,and in thebackground, a fixed
wing and a rotary wing antenna. (Courtesy Could Inc. Navi-
gation Systems Division.)

interest for almost 40 years in obtaining radars that operate

at theotherend of the spectrum, at millimeter wave-
lengths.Although there mightbe some potential special-
izedapplicationsof radarat millimeters, it will not be
extensive-at least not in the near future.
Radar Crutches: There are some things found in a radar
system that can be considered crutches. They are there Fig. 28. The Harpoonantiship cruise missile employsthe
self-contained all-weather DSQ-28 active radar homing sys-
because they areneeded, but they are something one tem with high guidance data rate and extensive electronic
would rather do without.An example is G A R , which counter-countermeasures in a package 13.5 in in diameter by
provides a constant false alarm rate at the output of the 24.5 i n long. (Courtesy Texas Instruments.)

SKOLNIK F I Authorized
F T Y YEARSlicensed
OF R A Duse
A R limited to: Teknillinen Korkeakoulu. Downloaded on June 12, 2009 at 07:33 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply. 195
 ent from any other. The listing given below is offered as
one example from one individual. It leans heavily on the
authors knowledge ofwhat took place, which is admittedly
limited. It is thus biased to US and Western developments.
The author apologizes for any omissions and would appre-
ciate learning of radar events deemed significant by others,
thatshouldbeincluded. The list could have beenmuch
larger if all major radar events were to be included, instead
of limiting to those events thathad somespecial signifi-
cance or major impact on developments that followed.
Similarly, the historicaldevelopmentsmentioned in the
main body of this paper are limited by the sources available
to the writer and by the writers perspective as an engineer
ratherthan as ahistorianoftechnology. The historical
descriptions of radar are mostly those of the US, especially
afterWorld War 11, because of theunavailability tothe
writer of adequate historical information about radar devel-
opments in Europe and elsewhere. A worthy future project
for some historian would be a complete and authoritative
history of this important technology. The listing given be-
low is in somewhat, but not precise, chronological order. (It
is difficult to be precise regarding dates.)

Fig. 29. Two Selenia (Rome, Italy) radars. The

RAT-31s Significant Radar Events
shown on the leftis an 5-band, 3 D air-surveillance radar that
electronically scans 3 stacked beams in elevation while TheexperimentsofHeinrichHertz in 1888 that first
mechanically rotating at 5 or 10 rev/min. Its range on a 2 - ~ d demonstrated the reflecting properties of radio waves.
Swerling i target (80-percent probability of detection) i s said Thelong-range heavy militarybomberaircraftthat ap-
t o be about 230 km. The radar on the right is the Pluto LOW
Coverage and Coastal Surveillance Radar. It is a 2 D air- peared in the early 1930s, which provided the incentive for
military radar.
defense radar which operates at 5-band with a 12- or 15-
rev/min rotation rate, and a maximum range of about 110
km on a l-m2target. The radar antenna is shown on a 55-m
- The unplanneddetectionofaircraft
during the 1930s with existing radio
in many countries
communications
self-erecting tower. (CourtesySelenia.)
equipment,thatindicated radio wavescan be used to
detect aircraft.
radar. It is includedto preventautomaticdetectionand
tracking systems from being overloaded with falsetargets
- The successful demonstrationby NRL in 1936 of VHF
(200-MHz)monostaticpulse radar using a singleantenna
that have to be processed by the computer. CFAR is essen- with duplexer.
tial in modern radar, but it causes a loss in sensitivity of The deployment in 1936 on theGermanpocketbattle-
about 1 or 2 dB or more, it degrades range resolution, and it ship Graf Spee of the 375-MHz Seetakt radar.
can cause wanted targets to be missed. CFAR would not be The Chain Home (30-MHz) radar net, consisting of seven
necessary if the radar eliminated all false targets before the wdar sites for the defense of England, installed in 1938, and
automatic tracking or if the automatic tracking had suffi- which played a key role in the Battle of Britain during 1940.
cient capacity to process all echoes without saturation. The200-MHz CXAM, first US Navy shipboard radar,
Other examples of radar crutchesincludeDicke Fix, manufactured in 1939.
Sensitivity Time Control, limiting in MTI, and pulse com- The100-MHz SCR-270, first US Armyair-searchradar,
pression. They all have some useful purpose, but it would manufactured in 1939.
be better in many cases if they were not needed. Invention of the high-power cavity magnetron in England
in 1939, which opened upthe microwavefrequencies to
WHAT COULD/WILLBE! practical radar development.
The500-MHz ASB airborne radar, developed in 1940,
In summary, radar of the future could be more reliable
widely used during World War II for air-to-surface search
with respect to both equipment failures and the presence
and airborne intercept.
of unwanted echoes, provide more target information than
* The establishmentof
the MIT Radiation Laboratory
now, operate successfully under adverse environmental
devoted to microwave radar development.
conditions, and (for military radars) perform its mission in
The application of the reflex klystron as the local oscilla-
spite of hostile action and countermeasures. The only thing
tor for the superheterdyne receiver, making possible sensi-
that can be said about what radar will be during its second
tive and tunable microwave receivers.
fifty years is that it likely will be different than it was during
its first fifty years.
- The5-band SCR-584 pencil beam, conical-scan tracker
deployed in 1944; the first microwave tracker used by the
US Army for the accurate control of anti-aircraft artillery.
APPENDIX
The invention of amplitude-comparison monopulse
It is always dangerous toattemptto list significant tracking in 1942, leading to the developmentof
the
accomplishments in any field. What is significant depends AN/FPS-16 precision tracker.
on ones background and sources of information as well as -- DevelopmentofMTI radar.
The publicationof the MIT Radiation Laboratory Series
ones personal criterion for significance. Thus each individ-
ual l i s t of significant radar events will quite likely be differ- of volumes on Radar.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Teknillinen Korkeakoulu. Downloaded on June 12, 2009 at 07:33 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions
PROCEEDINGS apply.
IEEE, VOL. 73, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 1985
1% O F THE
 Large VHF and UHF radar in the late 1950s, an example each figure. The author wishes to express his sincereap-
o fw h i c hw a st h eV H F AN/FPS-24airsurveillanceradar p r e c i a t i o n to those who made these illustrations available.
with an antenna about 120 ft w i d e b y 2 0 ft h i g h a n d a n
average power of 25 k W .
- TheBomarcair-to-airpilotless-aircraftguidanceradar,
which first demonstrated in the late 1950s the high,pulse-
REFERENCES

H. E. Guerlac, OSRD Long History, vol. V, Division 14, Radar,

repetition-frequency pulse-doppler radar in a l o o k - d o w n ,
available from Office of Technical Services, US. Department
shoot-down m o d e . of Commerce.
j . Marcumsradardetectiontheory,whichprovided a L. A. Gebhard, Evolution of naval radio-electronics and con-
quantitative relationship between detection probability, tributions of the Naval Research Laboratory, Naval Res.Lab.
false-alarmprobability,integration loss, andtherequired Rep. 8300, 1979, Washington, DC. Library of Congress Catalog
Number 79-600083.
signal-to-noise ratio. Sir R. Watson-Watt, The Pulse of Radar. New York: The Dial
T h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of the high-power klystron amplifier to Press, 1959.
radar, in t h e 1950s. C. Susskind, The birth of the golden cockerel: The develop-
- The BMEWS, a large UHF ballistic missile detection radar
system installed in the early 1%Os, that provided amajor
ment of radar, unpublished manuscript.
A. Price, lnstruments of Darkness. New York: Charles
Scribners Sons, 1978.
increase in radar range capabilities.
- Thesynthetic-apertureradar,firstdemonstrated
early 1950s, a n d w h i c h has been continually improved
in t h e
in
M. M. Lobanov, lz Proshlovo Radiolokatzii (Out of the Past of
Radar). Moscow, USSR: Military Publisher of the Ministry of
Defense, 1%9.
capability through the years. H. Hertz, ElectricWaves. New York: Dover, 1962.
- The S-band AN/FPSd
oneofthe
nodding beam height finder, still
most accurateandcheapestmethodsforde-
Hertzian-Wave projecting and receiving apparatus adapted
t o indicate or give warning of thepresence of a metallic body,
such as aship or train, in the line of projection of such
t e r m i n i n g t h e h e i g h t of aircraft. waves, British Patent 13170 issued to Christian Hulsmeyer,
- Thesuccessfulapplication of A M T l( A i r b o r n eM o v i n g
Target Indication) with the deployment of the Navys E2A in
Sept. 2, 1904.
D. K. Allison, New eye for the Navy: The origin of radar at
theNaval Research Laboratory, Naval Res. Lab. Rep. 8466,
t h e m i d d l e 1%Os.
- Thedemonstrationof
1960s for the detection of aircraft and ships.
HF over-the-horizonradar in t h e
Washington, DC, Sept. 28, 1981.
B. K. Shembel, U istokov radiolokatzii v SSSR (The origin
of radiolocation in the USSR), Sov. Radio, Moscow, 1977.
- The development of the modern long-range enroute Air
Traffic Control Radar during the early 1960s.
N. Friedman, NavalRadar. Annapolis, M D : Naval Inst. Press,
1981.
- Thedevelopment of coherentsidelobecancellation
t h e 1960s.
in
SummaryTechnical Report of Division 14, NDRC, Vol. 2,
Military Airborne RadarSystems, Office of Sci.Res. Devel.,

-- T h e i n v e n t i o n of the coaxial magnetron in the late 1960s.

Thelong-range AN/FPS-85 UHF Satellite
Radar installed in the late 1960s, the first example of a large
phased array using digital phase shifters
in two angular coordinates, and which called attention
-t h e c o m p u t e r as a major component of phased arrays.
Digital MTI, starting in the late 1960s.
The use o f t h e m i n i c o m p u t e r i n t h e e a r l y 1970s for ADT.
Ultra-low-sidelobe antennas, as demonstrated in AWACS.
- D e t e c t i o no fa i r c r a f to v e r l a n dw i t ht h eN a v y
and the Air Force E3A AWACS.
- Demonstration of high availability (greater than 99.9 per-
cent) with FAA Air Traffic Control Radars.
The AWC-9, track-while-scan, multitarget tracking pulse-
doppler airborne-intercept radar of long range.
TheMovingTargetDetection(MTD)systemdemon-
strated by MIT Lincoln Laboratory, an excellent example of
a signal processor based on modern digital technology.
Demonstration of remote sensing
Seasat in 1979.
-- Use of an all solid-state transmitter
Harpoon missile guidance radar in the late 1970s.
Integrated ADT, as i n t h e AN/SYS-1 in the early 1980s.
Serial production of Aegis and Patriot phased-array radars.
The list i s not a b o u t t o e n d ! N e w a n d s i g n i f i c a n t
developments can be expected in the future as n e w a p p l i -
cations, n e w t e c h n o l o g i e sa, n dnew
evolve.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The illustrations of radars shown in the paper were ob-
tained from the manufacturers indicated in t h e c a p t i o n o f
Surveillance
Washington, DC, 1946.
SummaryTechnical Report ofDivision 14, NDRC, Vol. 1,
Radar: Summary Report and Harp Project, Office of Sci. Res.
Devel., Washington, DC, 1946.
US RadarSurvey, Section I-Airborne Radar, Change 1,
to steer the beam Nat. Defense Res. Committee, Washington, DC, Aug. 1 , 1945.
to R. H. Varian and S. F. Varian, A high frequency oscillator and
amplifier, 1. Appl. Phys., vol. IO, pp. 321-327, May 1939.
M.Chodorow, E. L. Ginzton, I. R. Neilson,and 5. Sonkin,
Design and performance of a high-power pulsed klystron,
PrOC. IRE, VOI. 41, pp. 1584-1602, NOV.1953.
E2C AEW
L. C. Perkins, H. B. Smith, and D. H. Mooney, The develop-
mentof airbornepulsedoppler radar, / Trans.Aerosp.
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D. 0.North,An analysis ofthe factors whichdetermine
signal/noise discriminationin pulsed-carrier systems, RCA
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Special Issue onMatched Filters, IRE Trans. Inform. Theory,
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radars i n spacewith P. M. Woodward, Probabilityand hformation Theory, with
Applications to Radar. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1953. Avail-
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R.C. Emerson, Some pulsed doppler, MTI, and AMTl tech-.
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Radar, D. C. Schleher, Ed. Dedham,MA.,Artech House,
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Skolnik, Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970, ch. 18.
J. M. Headrick and M. I. Skolnik, Over-the-horizon radar in
radarcapabilities the HF band, Proc. I,vol. 62, pp. 664-673, June 1974.
H. F. Harmuth, Nonsinusoidal Waves for Radar andRadio
Communication. New York: AcademicPress, 1981, pp. 31 -46.
W. L. Grantham, E. M. Bracalente, W. L. Jones,and J. W.
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Rep. 1045-MR-15, Office of Sci. Res. Devel., Washington, DC,
June 16, 1945.

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