Nation-wide long-range radar network for air traffic control

A sweeping plan for improvement of the nation's air traffic control system was announced recently by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA). An order for 2 long-range radars, biggest single purchase of electronic equipment in the agency's history, was placed. The radars are the heart of a CAA plan announced last April by Secretary of Commerce Sinclair Weeks. The plan is designed to handle a fourfold increase in US air traffic with minimum delay and maximum safety. These radars will help CAA controllers accomplish this improvement by scanning the skies for all aircraft up to 200 miles away, depending on size and altitude. The equipment will be designed and built by the Raytheon Manufacturing Company of Waltham, MA, USA, at an approximate cost of US$9 million. These radars will be installed at 23 major cities.