AN/FPS-31
Description of the radar set, tactical-technical characteristics
Figure 1: AN/FPS-31 and AN/FPS-6 heightfinder (left)
Manufacturer:MIT’s Radiation Laboratory
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| frequency: | 420 … 430 MHz
(UHF-Band) |
| pulse repetition time (PRT): | |
| pulse repetition frequency (PRF): | 300 Hz (± 10 Hz) |
| pulsewidth (τ): | 6 µs |
| receiving time: | |
| dead time: | |
| peak power: | 2 MW |
| average power: | 3.6 kW |
| instrumented range: | 250 NM (≙ 460 km) |
| range resolution: | |
| accuracy: | |
| beamwidth: | |
| hits per scan: | |
| antenna rotation: | 6 rpm |
| MTBCF: | |
| MTTR: | |
AN/FPS-31
AN/FPS-31 was operating in UHF-Band Ground-controlled Interception (GCI) radar that was a part of the Experimental SAGE Subsector (ESS). A prototype only was operational in the test site West Bath in Maine (43°54'07.0" N 69°50'43.0" W) in October 1955. The site was closed in November 1962. The tower is still used as a mobile phone mast.
The antenna’s reflector was 120 feet wide and 16 feet high. The transmitter was a liquid-cooled magnetron of type QK508 built by Raytheon.
Source:
- William W. Ward and F. Robert Naka ''Long-Range UHF Radars for Ground Control of Airborne Interceptors'', Lincoln Laboratory Journal, Volume 12, Number 2, 2000, S.209