Airport surveillance radar design for increased air traffic

Air traffic volume has been increasing at a fast rate. To compensate for projected increases, the terminal air traffic control (ATC) operations must increase throughput. An important element of the ATC system is the airport surveillance radar (ASR), which needs innovative design alternatives. Air traffic safety and capacity over a wide range of severe weather conditions, such as wind shear and microburst, must be significantly increased. In congested airports, operations must be supported on closely spaced runways, requiring a one- to two-second update interval with one- to two-milliradian azimuth accuracy. The paper presents a candidate design for an ASR which incorporates advanced technology concepts for phased-array antennas with active elements and data processing capabilities. A moderate update interval of two seconds is assumed.<
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