This is a list of different types of
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 ...
.
Detection and search radars
Search radars scan great volumes of space with pulses of short radio waves. They typically scan the volume two to four times a minute. The waves are usually less than a meter long. Ships and planes are metal, and reflect radio waves. The radar measures the distance to the reflector by measuring the time of the roundtrip from emission of a pulse to reception, dividing this by two, and then multiplying by the
speed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit ...
. To be accepted, the received pulse has to lie within a period of time called the ''range gate''. The radar determines the direction because the short radio waves behave like a search light when emitted from the reflector of the radar set's antenna.
Search
*
Early Warning (EW) Radar Radar Systems
**
Ground Control Intercept (GCI) Radar
**
Airborne Early Warning (AEW)
**
Airborne ground surveillance
Airborne ground surveillance (AGS) refers to a class of military airborne radar system ( Surveillance aircraft) used for detecting and tracking ground targets, such as vehicles and slow moving helicopters, as opposed to Airborne early warning and ...
(AGS)
**
Over-the-Horizon (OTH) Radar
*Target Acquisition (TA, TAR) Radar Systems
**
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Systems
**
Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) Systems
*Surface Search (SS) Radar Systems
**Surface Search Radar
**Coastal Surveillance Radar
**Harbour Surveillance Radar
**
Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Radar
*
Height Finder (HF) Radar Systems
*Gap Filler Radar Systems
Targeting radars
Targeting radars utilize the same principle but scan smaller volumes of space far more often, usually several times a second or more, while a search radar will scan a larger volume less frequently.
Missile lock-on
Lock-on is a feature of many radar systems that allow it to automatically follow a selected target. Lock-on was first designed for the AI Mk. IX radar in the UK, where it was known as lock-follow or auto-follow. Its first operational use was in t ...
describes the scenario where a targeting radar has acquired a target, and the fire control can calculate a path for the missile to the target; in
semi-active radar homing
Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range Air-to-air missile, air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is ...
systems, this implies that the missile can "see" the target that the targeting radar is "illuminating". Some targeting radars have a range gate that can track a target, to eliminate clutter and
electronic countermeasure
An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...
s.
Missile guidance systems
*
Air-to-Air Missile (AAM)
*
Air-to-Surface Missile (ASM)
*
Surface-to-air missile (SAM) Systems
*
Surface-to-Surface Missiles (SSM) Systems
Others
*Target Tracking (TT) Systems
**
AAA
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and me ...
Systems
*Multi-Function Systems
**
Fire Control (FC) Systems
***Acquisition Mode
***Semiautomatic Tracking Mode
***Manual Tracking Mode
**Airborne Intercept (AI) Radars
***Search Mode
***TA Mode
***TT Mode
***Target Illumination (TI) Mode
***
Missile Guidance (MG) Mode
**
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 ...
(AESA)
Battlefield and reconnaissance radar
*Battlefield Surveillance Systems
**
Counter-battery radar
A counter-battery radar (alternatively weapon tracking radar or COBRA) is a radar system that detects artillery projectiles fired by one or more guns, howitzers, mortars or rocket launchers and, from their trajectories, locates the position on ...
**Battlefield Surveillance Radars
**Tactical Radar Identification and Location System
*Countermortar/Counterbattery Systems
**Shell Tracking Radars
*Air Mapping Systems
**
Side looking airborne radar
Side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) is an aircraft- or satellite-mounted imaging radar pointing perpendicular to the direction of flight (hence ''side-looking''). A squinted (nonperpendicular) mode is possible also. SLAR can be fitted with a sta ...
(SLAR)
**
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
**
Perimeter Surveillance Radar (PSR)
**
Red Dawn Radar System
* Ground Surveillance Radar
*
Man portable radar Man-portable radar is a lightweight surveillance radar system that does not require vehicle support to transport or operate. Man-portable radar was developed to introduce radar to remote areas where vehicle support is not feasible.
Examples
PPE PG ...
Instrumentation radars
Instrumentation radars are used to test aircraft, missiles, rockets, and munitions on government and private test ranges. They provide Time, Space, Position, Information (TSPI) data both for real time and post processing analysis.
Repurposed NASA and military radars
*
AN/FPS-16
The AN/FPS-16 is a highly accurate ground-based monopulse single object tracking radar (SOTR), used extensively by the NASA manned space program, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army. The accuracy of Radar Set AN/FPS-16 is such that the position d ...
*
MPQ-33/39
*MPA-25
*FPS-134
*
FPS-14
*TPQ-18
*FPQ-17
Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)
*
Weibel MFTR series
*
Weibel MSL series
*
Weibel SL series
Custom
*AN/MPS-39 Multi-Object Tracking Radar (MOTR)
*TAMTS
*BAE Rule
*ROTR
*ROSA
*ROSA II
*COSIP
*Dynetics MRS
Fuzes and triggers
Radar
proximity fuze
A proximity fuze (or fuse) is a Fuze (munitions), fuze that detonates an Explosive material, explosive device automatically when the distance to the target becomes smaller than a predetermined value. Proximity fuzes are designed for targets such ...
s are attached to
anti-aircraft artillery
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
shells or other
explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
devices, and detonate the device when it approaches a large object. They use a small rapidly pulsing omnidirectional radar, usually with a powerful battery that has a long storage life, and a very short operational life. The fuzes used in anti-aircraft artillery have to be mechanically designed to accept fifty thousand
''g'', yet still be cheap enough to throw away.
Weather-sensing radar systems
Weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly puls ...
s can resemble search radars. This radar uses radio waves along with horizontal, dual (horizontal and vertical), or circular polarization. The frequency selection of weather radar is a performance compromise between precipitation reflectivity and attenuation due to atmospheric water vapor. Some
weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly puls ...
s uses
doppler shift
The Doppler effect or Doppler shift (or simply Doppler, when in context) is the change in frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the wave source. It is named after the Austrian physicist Christian Doppler, who d ...
to measure wind speeds and dual-polarization for identification of types of precipitations.
*
Weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly puls ...
*
Wind profiler
A wind profiler is a type of weather observing equipment that uses radar or sound waves ( SODAR) to detect the wind speed and direction at various elevations above the ground. Readings are made at each kilometer above sea level, up to the extent o ...
s
*
Millimetre cloud radar
*
CODAR
Codar is a village in the Ponda ''taluka'' (sub-district) of Goa. Codar, also spelt as Kodar, is home to the Goa Government Agricultural Farm.
Area, population
According to the official 2011 Census, Codar in Ponda ''taluka'' has an area of 975.2 ...
Image:Sturmfront auf Doppler-Radar-Schirm.jpg, Storm front reflectivities on a weather radar screen (NOAA)
Image:Wind_Profiler.jpg, Wind profiling radar
Navigational radars
Navigational radars resemble search radar, but use very short waves that reflect from earth and stone. They are common on commercial ships and long-distance commercial aircraft.
Marine radars are used by ships for collision avoidance and navigation purposes. The frequency band of
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 ...
used on most ships is
X band
The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxim ...
(9 GHz/3 cm), but
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 ...
(3 GHz/10 cm) radar is also installed on most oceangoing ships to provide better detection of ships in rough sea and heavy rain condition.
Vessel traffic services also use marine radars (X or S band) for tracking
ARPA and provides collision avoidance or traffic regulation of ships in the surveillance area.
General purpose radars are increasingly being substituted for pure navigational radars. These generally use navigational radar frequencies, but modulate the pulse so the receiver can determine the type of surface of the reflector. The best general-purpose radars distinguish the rain of heavy storms, as well as land and vehicles. Some can superimpose sonar and map data from
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
position.
Air Traffic Control and navigation
Air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
uses primary and secondary radars. Primary radars are a "classical" radar which reflects all kind of echoes, including
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
and clouds. Secondary radar emits pulses and listens for special answer of digital data emitted by an Aircraft
Transponder
In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend word, blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''.
In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a T ...
as an answer. Transponders emit different kind of data like a 4 octal ID (mode A), the onboard calculated altitude (mode C) or the Callsign (not the
flight number
In the aviation industry, a flight number or flight designator is a code for an airline service consisting of two-character airline designator and a 1 to 4 digit number. For example, "BA 98" is a British Airways service from Toronto-Pearson to ...
) (mode S). Military use transponders to establish the nationality and intention of an aircraft, so that air defenses can identify possibly hostile radar returns. This military system is called IFF (
Identification Friend or Foe
Identification, friend or foe (IFF) is an identification system designed for command and control. It uses a transponder that listens for an ''interrogation'' signal and then sends a ''response'' that identifies the broadcaster. IFF systems usual ...
).
*
Air Traffic Control (ATC) Radars
*
Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) (Airport Surveillance Radar)
*Ground Control Approach (GCA) Radars
*
Precision Approach Radar (PAR) Systems
*
Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)
*
Radio Beacons
In navigation, a radio beacon or radiobeacon is a kind of beacon, a device that marks a fixed location and allows direction-finding equipment to find relative bearing. But instead of employing visible light, radio beacons transmit electromagnet ...
*
Radar Altimeter (RA) Systems
*
Terrain-Following Radar (TFR) Systems
*
Radar altimeter
A radar altimeter (RA), also called a radio altimeter (RALT), electronic altimeter, reflection altimeter, or low-range radio altimeter (LRRA), measures altitude above the terrain presently beneath an aircraft or spacecraft by timing how long it t ...
s measure an aircraft's true height above ground.
Space and range instrumentation radar systems
*Space (SP) Tracking Systems
*Range Instrumentation (RI) Systems
*Video Relay/Downlink Systems
*
Space-based radar
*
Incoherent scatter Incoherent scattering is a type of scattering phenomenon in physics. The term is most commonly used when referring to the scattering of an electromagnetic wave (usually light or radio frequency) by random fluctuations in a gas of particles (most o ...
Mapping radars
Mapping radars are used to scan a large region for
remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...
and
geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
applications. They generally use
synthetic aperture radar
Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target region to provide fine ...
, which limits them to relatively static targets, normally terrain.
Specific radar systems can sense a human behind walls. This is possible since the reflective characteristics of humans are generally more diverse than those of the materials typically used in construction. However, since humans reflect far less radar energy than metal does, these systems require sophisticated technology to isolate human targets and moreover to process any sort of detailed image. Through-the-wall radars can be made with
Ultra Wideband
Ultra-wideband (UWB, ultra wideband, ultra-wide band and ultraband) is a radio technology that can use a very low energy level for short-range, high-bandwidth communications over a large portion of the radio spectrum. UWB has traditional applicati ...
impulse radar, micro-Doppler radar, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR).
Through-the-wall radar
/ref>
* Imaging radar
Imaging radar is an application of radar which is used to create two-dimensional images, typically of landscapes. Imaging radar provides its light to illuminate an area on the ground and take a picture at radio wavelengths. It uses an antenna and ...
* 3D radar
3-D, 3D, or 3d may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality
* Three-dimensional space
** 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data
** 3D film, a ...
Speed radar
* Radar gun
A radar speed gun (also radar gun and speed trap gun) is a device used to measure the speed of moving objects. It is used in law-enforcement to measure the speed of moving vehicles and is often used in professional spectator sport, for things su ...
, for traffic policing and as used in some sports
Radars for biological research
Radar range and wavelength can be adapted for different surveys of bird and migration and daily habits. They can have other uses too in the biological field.
*
Insect radar
**Surveillance radar (mostly X and S band, i.e. primary ATC Radars)
**Tracking radar (mostly X band, i.e. Fire Control Systems)
*
Wearable radar
' and miniature radar systems are used as electric seeing aids for the visually impaired, as well as early warning collision detection
Collision detection is the computational problem of detecting the intersection (Euclidean geometry), intersection of two or more objects. Collision detection is a classic issue of computational geometry and has applications in various computing ...
and situational awareness
Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status. An alternative definition is tha ...
.
See also
* Radar engineering details
Radar engineering details are technical details pertaining to the components of a radar and their ability to detect the return energy from moving scatterers — determining an object's position or obstruction in the environment. This includes field ...
* Automatic Radar Plotting Aid
* Low probability of intercept
* Radar tracker
A radar tracker is a component of a radar system, or an associated command and control (C2) system, that associates consecutive radar observations of the same target into Track (navigation), tracks. It is particularly useful when the radar system ...
Notes
{{Authority control
Radar