A Family of Air Traffic Control Radars

Some 20 years of activity in the field of air traffic control (ATC) radars is described. This activity includes the production of over 100 equipments installed in 20 countries all over the world and is a relevant technical contribution to provision of reliable surveillance of scheduled air carriers and general aviation. Three generations of equipment have been produced in this series: conventional design, solid state, and adaptive. The technical experience gained in evaluating the performance of ATC radars installed throughout the world is described in terms of target visibility in the clear, a ground clutter, and in adverse metrorological conditions. The estimation of radar coverage in the clear is derived from direct measurement of receiver sensitivity in terms of Pd and Pfa, while flight tests are utilized to verify actual performance in a given operational environment. A criterion to determine the significance of a flight test is described. In the effort to establish a reliable method of measurement, the subclutter visibility over ground clutter is related to the linear dynamic range of the moving-target indicator (MTI) receiver and to the improvement factor. The results obtained for the ATCR-22 adaptive radar line are described. Block diagrams and descriptions of the third generation radar equipment are given.