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The
Shipboard Phased-Array Radars
''. Waypoint Magazine. February 2003. (Written to support war games, but informative.) ;Personal History Gary M. Farral RD2, USS ''Long Beach'' CG(N)-9 2 November 1966 to 28 December 1968
nbsp;— Not in English, but contains good pictures of the USS ''Long Beach'' with the SCANFAR radar anatennas.
Google cache of eDefense Online article
{Dead link, date=January 2015 Naval radars Military radars of the United States Phased array radar
The Hughes
Hughes may refer to:
People
* Hughes (surname)
* Hughes (given name)
Places Antarctica
* Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency
* Mount Hughes, Oates Land
* Hughes Basin, Oates Land
* Hughes Bay, Graham Land
* Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...
SCANFAR was the first phased array
In antenna theory, a phased array usually means an electronically scanned array, a computer-controlled array of antennas which creates a beam of radio waves that can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving th ...
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
system to be deployed by the US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
, installed on the USS ''Long Beach'' (CGN-9) and USS ''Enterprise'' (CVN-65). It consisted of two search radars, the AN/SPS-32 and the AN/SPS-33. In 1982, the system was removed from ''Long Beach'', and was replaced by the AN/SPS-48 during a comprehensive overhaul. Aboard the ''Long Beach'', the system used AN/SPG-55
The AN/SPG-55 was an American tracking / illumination radar for Terrier and RIM-67 Standard missiles (SM-1ER/SM-2ER). It was used for target tracking and surface-to-air missile guidance as part of the Mk 76 missile fire control system. It was ...
radars for missile guidance.
Despite its failure to enter widespread service, the lessons learned were applied to the follow-on Aegis Combat System
The Aegis Combat System is an American integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and it is now produced by Lockheed Martin.
Initially used by the United States Navy, Aegis is now used also by t ...
and the associated AN/SPY-1 passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar.
History
Prior to the development of SCANFAR, the Navy had been developing an advanced anti-aircraft weapon system combining an extremely advanced radar system, theAN/SPG-59
The AN/SPG-59 was an advanced PESA phased array radar developed by the U.S. Navy starting in 1958. It was one of the earliest phased array radars. AN/SPG-59 was intended to offer search, track and guidance from a single radar system and antenna ...
, with a new long-range missile known as the RIM-50 Typhon. The radar was an active electronically scanned array
An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled array antenna in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the an ...
that acted both as a long-range surveillance system as well as the target illumination and guidance system for the missiles. The system proved to be beyond the state of the art, in particular it required a large number of individual broadcast elements that proved to be unreliable and expensive.
SCANFAR was to some extent a simplified version of the SPG-59. The main radar would be used solely for surveillance, with target illumination being left to existing radar systems used with earlier missiles like the RIM-8 Talos or RIM-24 Tartar
The General Dynamics RIM-24 Tartar was a medium-range naval surface-to-air missile (SAM), and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. The Tartar was the third of the so-called "3 T's", the three primary ...
. During development it was found that attempting to use a single antenna for both search and tracking did not work effectively, so the system was modified to use two antennas, one for surveillance and another for tracking. Thus the system ended up using three radar antennas, and was, therefore, similar to earlier systems. An automatic tracking computer was added to the system in 1967. Also, in 1967, USS ''Long Beach'' detected and destroyed two North Vietnamese MiGs, utilizing the SCANFAR and Talos missile systems.
In service, the system proved to be temperamental, due largely to the huge number of vacuum tube
A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied.
The type kn ...
s it used. Despite this, the "air picture" it provided was good, with over-the-horizon capabilities. In 1967, during a shipyard overhaul period, the ''Long Beach'' radar system was converted from electronic tubes to solid state electronic boards. Converting to solid state for radar and radio equipment lightened the superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
by 20 tons. AN/SPS-33 was an S band
The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the convention ...
radar with a pencil beam function that could focus a single radar beam on a target. The pencil beam could be manually operated. SCANFAR was eventually replaced by the AN/SPS-48E.
*AN/SPS-32 was a horizontally wide rectangular antenna for air surveillance.
*AN/SPS-33 was a vertical narrow rectangular antenna for target tracking. According to Navy documentation, the AN/SPS-33 was frequency-scanned in elevation and phase-scanned in azimuth.
References
;Notes ;Online *Dranidis, Dimitris V.Shipboard Phased-Array Radars
''. Waypoint Magazine. February 2003. (Written to support war games, but informative.) ;Personal History Gary M. Farral RD2, USS ''Long Beach'' CG(N)-9 2 November 1966 to 28 December 1968
External links
nbsp;— Not in English, but contains good pictures of the USS ''Long Beach'' with the SCANFAR radar anatennas.
Google cache of eDefense Online article
{Dead link, date=January 2015 Naval radars Military radars of the United States Phased array radar