The Future of Radar

In this paper an attempt is made to forecast the direction in which the radar state-of-the-art will aim. The paper will begin with a description of a few of the radars of World War II, to set the stage for a comparison and evaluation of the various techniques that have been added. Since World War II, various components and techniques developments have been designed for our more modern-day radar, and a tremendous increase has been realized in capability for handling smaller, faster and more distant targets. Particular emphasis is placed on the problems of high resolution, discrimination and pattern recognition. The effect of our entry into the space age on the design of radar equipments will be discussed. These new radars must cope with problems which are at least an order of magnitude greater than the air-breathing threat in al of its aspects. The conclusion made is that the phased-array type of radar offers the only long-range solution to the complex problems faced today by the radar engineer. Its combination of flexibility, limitless power, high-frequency capability, electronic scanning, etc., makes it the only logical choice for the future.