The AN/TPS-43 is a transportable air search 3D radar produced in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

originally by Westinghouse Defense and Electronic Division, which was later purchased by

Northrop-Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

. It is used primarily for

early warning An early warning system is a warning system that can be implemented as a chain of information communication systems and comprises sensors, event detection and decision subsystems for early identification of hazards. They work together to for ...

and tactical control, often for control over an associated surface-to-air missile battery or

airfield An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

. It is designed to be transported in two M35 cargo trucks and easily air-transportable on two pallets. The TPS-43 uses multiple

feed horn A feed horn (or feedhorn) is a small horn antenna used to couple a waveguide to e.g. a parabolic dish antenna or offset dish antenna for reception or transmission of microwave. A typical application is the use for satellite television recep ...

s and an organ-pipe scanner to rapidly scan its

pencil beam In optics, a pencil or pencil of rays is a geometric construct used to describe a beam or portion of a beam of electromagnetic radiation or charged particles, typically in the form of a narrow beam (conical or cylindrical). Antennas which stron ...

vertically while the entire antenna system rotates to scan in azimuth. By comparing the relative power of a return in one or more of the vertical feed horns, the target altitude can be determined. Since its introduction in 1966 it has undergone many modifications. In later versions, the organ-pipe was replaced by a stripline matrix to produce

beamforming Beamforming or spatial filtering is a signal processing technique used in sensor arrays for directional signal transmission or reception. This is achieved by combining elements in an antenna array in such a way that signals at particular angles e ...

that had the same output pattern but had no moving parts. Many more upgrades were made to the transmitter and receiver as

solid state electronics Solid-state electronics means semiconductor electronics: electronic equipment using semiconductor devices such as transistors, diodes and integrated circuits (ICs). The term is also used as an adjective for devices in which semiconductor electr ...

were able to handle increased power loads. Among its notable uses were two examples used by the

Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falkl ...

that were moved to the Falkland Islands during the 1982 Falklands War. The example at

Port Stanley Airport Port Stanley Airport is an airport in the Falkland Islands, outside the capital, Stanley. The airport is the only civilian airport in the islands with a paved runway. However, RAF Mount Pleasant, located to the west of Stanley, functions ...

survived two attacks by

AGM-45 Shrike AGM-45 Shrike is an American anti-radiation missile designed to home in on hostile anti-aircraft radar. The Shrike was developed by the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake in 1963 by mating a seeker head to the rocket body of an AIM-7 Sparrow. ...

missiles before being captured by British forces. It was repaired, upgraded, and then used by the

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 ...

for many years.

Description

The AN/TPS-43 is a ground-based, non-fixed (i.e.: transportable) search radar.The US Military description for radar type TPS is "Ground, Transportable; Radar; Detecting, Range and Bearing, Search". The entire system can be broken down and packed into two M35 trucks for road transport. An updated version replacing the original shaped reflector and organ-pipe scanner with a

phased array antenna 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 ...

was originally known as the TPS-43E2, but emerged as a much more modern system and was renamed the

AN/TPS-75 The AN/TPS-75 is a transportable passive electronically scanned array air search 3D radar produced in the United States. It was originally designated the TPS-43E2. Although the antenna is a radically new design from the TPS-43, the radar van itse ...

. TPS-75 is the current transportable air control and warning (AC&W) radar used by the United States Air Force.

Variants

In addition to the basic TPS-43 several variants were developed. * TPS-43A (antenna tilt; new IFF) * TPS-43B (enlarged shelter; changes to transmitter) * TPS-43C / 43CX (increased reliability; IFF improvements) * TPS-43D / 43DX (ISLS added; maximum detection range increased) * TPS-43E (major redesign; improvements to electronics, mechanics and shelter) * TPS-43F / subvariants V1 to V6 (major redesign; enlarged shelter, improved electronics; increased reliability) * TPS-43G (4MW version designed for Pakistan) * TPS-43M (improved electronics; increased dynamic range; improved IFF incorporating several modules in a single unit) * TPS-430

Operational history

AN-TPS-43E_tactical_three-dimensional_radar_system

The AN/TPS-43 completed development in 1963 and entered US service in 1968. This radar was deployed by the

during the 1982 Falklands War to

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

and survived two British attacks with

anti radar missiles on May 31 and June 3. One of the radars was captured by British forces after the Argentine surrender and deployed at RAF Buchan Another set installed at Rio Grande, in the mainland, was used to guide Argentine attacks on the British fleet.

Users

- In the early 1980s six sets were purchased, one was lost in the Falklands War. *

Bangladesh Air Force The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ বিমান বাহিনী, Bangladesh Biman Bahini) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The Air Force is primarily responsible for air defence of ...

- 4 (Status Uncertain) Trade Registers
. Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 23 December 2017.

Specifications

* Weight (including shelter): < 3400 kg * Frequency range: 2.9 to 3.1 GHz (S-Band) *

Pulse repetition frequency The pulse repetition frequency (PRF) is the number of pulses of a repeating signal in a specific time unit. The term is used within a number of technical disciplines, notably radar. In radar, a radio signal of a particular carrier frequency is tu ...

: Fixed: 250 Hz, Staggered: Six PRF's around 250 Hz * Pulse width: 6.5 microseconds * Peak power: 4.0 MW * Average power: 6.7 KW * Beam width (horizontal): 1.1 degrees * Beam width (vertical): 1.5 to 8.1 degrees; total 20 degree coverage; six stacked beams * Antenna rotation rate: 6 rpm * Maximum range 240 NM * Maximum display range: 450 km * Types of cooling : 4 types of cooling use (Air, Gas, Oil and Water) * Antenna characteristics: Reflector aperture 14 ft (4.27 m) high by 20 ft 4 in (6.20 m) wide

Footnotes

References

Notes

Sources

radartutorial.eu Card Index of Radar Sets - Ancient Radars – AN/TPS-43

''(accessed 2015-01-02)'' * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:AN TPS-43 Military radars of the United States Ground radars Radars of the United States Air Force Argentine Air Force Military equipment introduced in the 1960s