The AI.24 ''Foxhunter'' was an
airborne radar
Airborne or Airborn may refer to:
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Films
* ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis
* ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film
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carried by the
Panavia Tornado ADV
The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) was a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 19 ...
fighter aircraft (known as the Tornado F3 in
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
service) and gave it an all-weather, day and night, beyond-visual-range engagement capability.
Production
The radar was manufactured by
GEC-Marconi subsidiaries and other partners, with major parts from
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
The firm was known ...
.
Despite initial problems, (the radar was several years late and 60 percent over budget) successive upgrades constantly improved the RAF's Tornado F3 fleet.
Development
![AI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/AI.24_Foxhunter_radar_0003.jpg)
Much of the radar system and related operational software was developed at the Radar Research Laboratory of
GEC-Marconi Elliott Avionic Systems Ltd., initially at the
Elliott Automation
Elliott Brothers (London) Ltd was an early computer company of the 1950s–60s in the United Kingdom. It traced its descent from a firm of instrument makers founded by William Elliott (instrument maker), William Elliott (1780 or 1781-1853) in ...
plant in
Borehamwood
Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly know ...
,
Hertfordshire,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and latterly (from 1981 to 2004) as
Marconi Avionics at the (formerly the Xerox site of a matrix of interconnected grey portacabins and a few factory units) facility on Monks Way, Linford Wood,
Milton Keynes. This site has changed completely in the years since, but there is now a Foxhunter Drive starting where the high security gate was.
History
The radar was flight tested on a
Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer
Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 until about 168 ...
and first flew in a Tornado F.2 in June 1981.
Contractual relationships
In 1987 GEC argued that the contractual relationships were partly to blame for the delay in the Foxhunter entering service – although GEC was responsible for most of the radar, Ferranti manufactured the antenna platform (the scanner less the antenna) and transmitter and reported to the
Ministry of Defence who acted as the prime contactor.
A new contract was signed in March 1988 and described as "tight" (i.e. not lenient towards Marconi) by the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
''.
Production delays
Production Tornado F.2s had
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
ballast in place of the Foxhunter radar, due to the development delays. This ballast became known as the "
Blue Circle
Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement. It was founded in 1900 as the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd through the fusion of 24 cement works, mostly around on the Thames and Medway estuaries, toget ...
radar", a play on words from a British brand of cement by the same name, and the
Rainbow Codes previously used for British radars.
The UK's Tornado F3 fleet were ultimately equipped with "Stage 3 AI.24s".
References
External links
Implementation in the Tornado
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ai.24 Foxhunter
Aircraft radars
Ferranti
General Electric Company
Military radars of the United Kingdom
Military equipment introduced in the 1980s