AWACS question

AndyS 19 years ago

Andy asks:

This question just popped into my head, and I wonder if there are any ex-military radar engineers who can answer it.......

On the AWACS aircraft, the antenna is mounted atop the aircraft... When it looks , the aircraft wings and fuselage have got to be blocking the emission, as well as the return, for a part of the scan.... Or , at least, distorting the angular information in the return....

So, my question is, how does the system compensate for this ?

Andy, ex-radar systems engineer.... retired

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linnix 19 years ago

Just a guess. Perhaps they fly upside down while looking.

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Joerg 19 years ago

Perhaps they don't want to look down because there's too much misery down there ;-)

But seriously, I guess the goal is nearly horizontal long range scanning and distortions caused by metal objects in the near field that aren't immediately blocking the path can be corrected in the beamforming process. That's how we do that in ultrasound.

Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com

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Rich Grise 19 years ago

My guess is, they use a directional antenna and don't point it at the wings and stuff. It is long-range, after all - it's only interested in what's above the horizon.

Hope This Helps! Rich

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Usual Suspect 19 years ago

Yeah, weren't these deployed in "friendly" airspace looking over the borders into "hostile" territory? They're a long-range tool: "Don't care what's below us"...

Al, the usual

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