The AN/FPS-18 was a medium-range search Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command.[1]

This medium-range search radar was designed and built by Bendix as a SAGE system gap-filler radar to provide low-altitude coverage. Operating in the S-band at a frequency between 2700 and 2900 MHz, the AN/FPS-18 could detect at a range of 65 miles.

The system was deployed in the late 1950s and 1960s at unmanned radar facilities (called "Gap Fillers") designed to fill the low-altitude gaps between manned long-range radar stations. Gaps in coverage existed due to the curvature of the Earth, mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, and so forth.

The typical unmanned gap-filler radar annex consisted of a small L-shaped cinder-block building, with the radar equipment and the data-transmission equipment in one section and one or more diesel generators in the other section. These unmanned gap-filler sites generally had a three-legged radar tower about 85 feet tall where the AN/FPS-18 Radar was mounted inside a radome.

Classification of radar systems

Under the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), all U.S. military radar and tracking systems are assigned a unique identifying alphanumeric designation. The letters “AN” (for Army-Navy) are placed ahead of a three-letter code.[2]

  • The first letter of the three-letter code denotes the type of platform hosting the electronic device, where A=Aircraft, F=Fixed (land-based), S=Ship-mounted, and T=Ground transportable.
  • The second letter indicates the type of equipment, where P=Radar (pulsed), Q=Sonar, and R=Radio.
  • The third letter indicates the function or purpose of the device, where G=Fire control, R=Receiving, S=Search, and T=Transmitting.

Thus, the AN/FPS-18 represents the 18th design of an Army-Navy “Fixed, Radar, Search” electronic device.[2][3]

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ↑ http://www.bendixradiofoundation.com/documents/Bendix%20Radio%20Radar%20History.pdf
  2. 1 2 Avionics Department (2013). "Missile and Electronic Equipment Designations". Electronic Warfare and Radar Systems Engineering Handbook (PDF) (4 ed.). Point Mugu, California: Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division. p. 2-8.1.
  3. ↑ Winkler, David F. (1997). "Radar Systems Classification Methods". Searching the Skies: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program (PDF). Langley AFB, Virginia: United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command. p. 73. LCCN 97020912.
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