Microwave and Radar Engineering

15

Tracking Radars

15.1 INTRODUCTION

The primary objective of all radars is to search a given volume of space and to detect targets without previous knowledge of the target’s location or presence. The two basic functions that are common in almost all radars are search/detect and track. Tracking is an essential component of many radar systems. The exact position of the target is required for most of the applications of radar technology. A typical area where you would notice a radar system is at an airport. At smaller airports, the antennas are much more visible and can be seen rotating. Most of the antennas at larger airports are protected by domes. Targets such as an aircraft or a ship are usually struck by the radar signal many times. This ...