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Radar picket
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Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped station, ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a nation or military (including naval) force to protect it from surprise attack, typically air attack, or from criminal activities such as smuggling. The term 'picket' is an old military term for a sentry placed forward of a defensive line, in order to provide an advanced warning. By definition a radar picket must be some distance removed from the anticipated targets to be capable of providing early warning. Often several detached radar units would be placed in a ring to encircle a target to provide increased cover in all directions; another approach is to position units to form a barrier line.
Radar picket units may also be equipped to direct friendly aircraft to intercept any possible enemy. In British terminology the radar picket function is called aircraft direction. A ship performing this function is termed a fighter direction ship. Airborne radar pickets are referred to as Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) or simply airborne early warning (AEW), depending on capabilities.
In a sense radars intended to track ballistic missiles can be thought of as radar pickets (the early US Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) was originally termed as such), but because such systems also came to be used for tracking orbital satellites and space debris the current preferred term for them is space domain awareness systems.
Chain Home or CH was the codename for the ring of coastal early warning radar stations built by the Royal Air Force (RAF) before and during World War II to detect and track aircraft. Chain Home proved decisive during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The Chain Home network was continually expanded, with over 40 stations operational by the war's end. CH was not able to detect aircraft at low altitude, and from 1939 was normally partnered with the Chain Home Low system which could detect aircraft flying at any altitude over 500 ft (150 m). Ports were covered by Chain Home Extra Low, which gave cover down to 50 ft (15 m) but at shorter ranges of approximately 30 miles (50 km). In 1942 the AMES Type 7 radar began to assume the job of tracking of targets once detected, and CH moved entirely to the early warning role.
In late 1944 the Fighter Interception Development Squadron carried out operational trials under Operation Vapour of a Vickers Wellington which was equipped with a modified ASV Mk VI radar set and PPI, as one of the first Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft. It operated at an altitude of 4,000 feet over the North Sea to control de Havilland Mosquito and Bristol Beaufighter night fighters intercepting Heinkel He 111 bombers flying from Dutch airbases and their V-1 flying bombs. The Wellington was fitted with a homing beacon so the night fighters could locate and keep station with it. Despite encouraging results, the operational trials ended after the Luftwaffe stopped air launches by mid January 1945.
The Kammhuber Line was the Allied name given to the German night air defense system established in July 1940 by Colonel Josef Kammhuber. The first version of the Line consisted of a series of 'boxes' of radar stations with overlapping coverage, layered three deep from Denmark to the middle of France, each covering a zone about 32 km long (north-south) and 20 km wide (east-west). Each station consisted of a control center with a FuMG A1 Freya radar with a range of about 100 km and a directed searchlight for the night fighters. Later versions of the Line added two Würzburg-Riese radars, with a range of about 30 km. Unlike the early-warning Freya, Würzburgs were accurate (and complex) tracking radars. One Würzburg would lock onto the target as soon as the Freya picked it up, and the second Würzburg would lock onto the night fighter as soon as it entered the box, thereby allowing controllers to get continual readings of the positions of both planes.
The Line was very effective against early RAF Bomber Command tactics. However, on the night of 30/31 May 1942 in its 1,000 plane raid against Cologne, Bomber Command introduced the use of the bomber stream. The concentration of bombers through a few of the boxes resulted in the defenses being overwhelmed. In response, the Germans converted their ground radar into a radar network, which would follow the path of the British bombers, while a controller directed the night fighters into the stream. Measure and counter measure continued until October 1944, when German defenses were no longer able to respond to Germany's deteriorating situation.
From 1943 Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine operated several radar-equipped night fighter guide ships (Nachtjagdleitschiffe), including the NJL Togo. which was equipped with a Freya radar for early warning and a Würzburg-Riese gun laying radar, plus night fighter communications equipment. From October 1943, Togo cruised the Baltic Sea under the operational control of the Luftwaffe. In March 1944, after the three great Soviet bombing raids on Helsinki, she arrived in the Gulf of Finland to provide night fighter cover for Tallinn and Helsinki.
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Radar picket AI simulator
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Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped station, ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a nation or military (including naval) force to protect it from surprise attack, typically air attack, or from criminal activities such as smuggling. The term 'picket' is an old military term for a sentry placed forward of a defensive line, in order to provide an advanced warning. By definition a radar picket must be some distance removed from the anticipated targets to be capable of providing early warning. Often several detached radar units would be placed in a ring to encircle a target to provide increased cover in all directions; another approach is to position units to form a barrier line.
Radar picket units may also be equipped to direct friendly aircraft to intercept any possible enemy. In British terminology the radar picket function is called aircraft direction. A ship performing this function is termed a fighter direction ship. Airborne radar pickets are referred to as Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) or simply airborne early warning (AEW), depending on capabilities.
In a sense radars intended to track ballistic missiles can be thought of as radar pickets (the early US Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) was originally termed as such), but because such systems also came to be used for tracking orbital satellites and space debris the current preferred term for them is space domain awareness systems.
Chain Home or CH was the codename for the ring of coastal early warning radar stations built by the Royal Air Force (RAF) before and during World War II to detect and track aircraft. Chain Home proved decisive during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The Chain Home network was continually expanded, with over 40 stations operational by the war's end. CH was not able to detect aircraft at low altitude, and from 1939 was normally partnered with the Chain Home Low system which could detect aircraft flying at any altitude over 500 ft (150 m). Ports were covered by Chain Home Extra Low, which gave cover down to 50 ft (15 m) but at shorter ranges of approximately 30 miles (50 km). In 1942 the AMES Type 7 radar began to assume the job of tracking of targets once detected, and CH moved entirely to the early warning role.
In late 1944 the Fighter Interception Development Squadron carried out operational trials under Operation Vapour of a Vickers Wellington which was equipped with a modified ASV Mk VI radar set and PPI, as one of the first Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft. It operated at an altitude of 4,000 feet over the North Sea to control de Havilland Mosquito and Bristol Beaufighter night fighters intercepting Heinkel He 111 bombers flying from Dutch airbases and their V-1 flying bombs. The Wellington was fitted with a homing beacon so the night fighters could locate and keep station with it. Despite encouraging results, the operational trials ended after the Luftwaffe stopped air launches by mid January 1945.
The Kammhuber Line was the Allied name given to the German night air defense system established in July 1940 by Colonel Josef Kammhuber. The first version of the Line consisted of a series of 'boxes' of radar stations with overlapping coverage, layered three deep from Denmark to the middle of France, each covering a zone about 32 km long (north-south) and 20 km wide (east-west). Each station consisted of a control center with a FuMG A1 Freya radar with a range of about 100 km and a directed searchlight for the night fighters. Later versions of the Line added two Würzburg-Riese radars, with a range of about 30 km. Unlike the early-warning Freya, Würzburgs were accurate (and complex) tracking radars. One Würzburg would lock onto the target as soon as the Freya picked it up, and the second Würzburg would lock onto the night fighter as soon as it entered the box, thereby allowing controllers to get continual readings of the positions of both planes.
The Line was very effective against early RAF Bomber Command tactics. However, on the night of 30/31 May 1942 in its 1,000 plane raid against Cologne, Bomber Command introduced the use of the bomber stream. The concentration of bombers through a few of the boxes resulted in the defenses being overwhelmed. In response, the Germans converted their ground radar into a radar network, which would follow the path of the British bombers, while a controller directed the night fighters into the stream. Measure and counter measure continued until October 1944, when German defenses were no longer able to respond to Germany's deteriorating situation.
From 1943 Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine operated several radar-equipped night fighter guide ships (Nachtjagdleitschiffe), including the NJL Togo. which was equipped with a Freya radar for early warning and a Würzburg-Riese gun laying radar, plus night fighter communications equipment. From October 1943, Togo cruised the Baltic Sea under the operational control of the Luftwaffe. In March 1944, after the three great Soviet bombing raids on Helsinki, she arrived in the Gulf of Finland to provide night fighter cover for Tallinn and Helsinki.
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