Dual-use air traffic control radar

Abstract

During the past seven years the Federal Aviation Administration has had a research program called the Terminal Area Surveillance System (TASS) to develop the next generation airport surveillance radar. At present the FAA has two radars for aircraft and weather surveillance at the major airports. One of these radars, the ASR-9, is for aircraft surveillance and rain intensity. The other, the Terminal Doppler Weather Radar, is for detecting wind shear. The concept of TASS is to develop a system which will replace both radars with a single radar. A radar with back-to-back phased array antennas is a promising concept to satisfy the need for safe air traffic control at a reasonable cost.