Microwave systems-then and now-examples at the 50th reunion of the MIT Radiation Laboratory

A brief history of the MIT Radiation Laboratory established by the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) is presented. The focus is on Radlab Projects 2, a gunlaying system including a radar for target acquisition and tracking, a computer to establish tracks and to make fire-control predictions, and the guns and the shells with their fuses, and Project 3, a navigation system. The current situation is discussed, including the impact of advances in technology, both in the microwave field and in complementary fields essential to the design of modern microwave systems. Three examples are briefly reviewed: the Army Patriot, the Navy Aegis, and the AF Navstar of GPS navigation system.<
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