An
airport surveillance radar (ASR) is a
radarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
system used at
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
s to detect and display the position of
aircraftAn aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
in the terminal area.
Digital Airport Surveillance Radar (DASR)
The Digital Airport Surveillance Radar (DASR) is a new terminal air traffic control radar system that replaces current analog systems with new digital technology. The
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Electronics Systems Center, the US
Federal Aviation AdministrationThe Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
, and the US Navy are in the process of procuring DASR systems to upgrade existing radar facilities for US
Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
(DoD) and civilian airfields. The DASR system detects aircraft position and weather conditions in the vicinity of civilian and military airfields. The civilian nomenclature for this radar is the ASR-11. The ASR-11 will replace existing ASR-7, ASR-8, and ASR-9 models. The military nomenclature for the radar is the AN/GPN-30. The older radars, some up to 20 years old, are being replaced to improve reliability, provide additional weather data, reduce maintenance cost, improve performance, and provide digital data to new digital automation systems for presentation on air traffic controller displays. The
Iraqi Air ForceThe Iraqi Air Force or IQAF is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations...
has received the DASR system.
Display systems
ASR data is displayed on Automated Radar Terminal System (ARTS), Common Automated Radar Terminal System (CARTS), and
Standard Terminal Automation Replacement SystemThe Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System is an air traffic control automation system currently being used in many TRACONs around the United States. STARS is intended to replace the Automated Radar Terminal System...
(STARS) display consoles in control towers and Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) rooms, usually located at airports. CARTS will be replaced with STARS at all TRACONs during TAMR Phase 3 - Segment 1 as announced by the FAA
Federal Aviation AdministrationThe Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
in the Spring of 2011. The fate of the remaining ARTS systems will be determined through the FAA's upcoming announcement of TAMR Phase 3 - Segment 2.
The
Standard Terminal Automation Replacement SystemThe Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System is an air traffic control automation system currently being used in many TRACONs around the United States. STARS is intended to replace the Automated Radar Terminal System...
(STARS) is a joint Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Defense (DoD) program to replace Automated Radar Terminal Systems (ARTS) and other capacity-constrained, older technology systems at 172 FAA and up to 199 DoD terminal radar approach control facilities and associated towers.
STARS will be used by controllers, at facilities who already have it installed, to provide
air traffic controlAir traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
(ATC) services to aircraft in terminal areas. Typical terminal area ATC services are defined as the area around airports where departing and arriving traffic are served. Functions include aircraft separation, weather advisories, and lower level control of air traffic. The system is designed to accommodate air traffic growth and the introduction of new automation functions which will improve the safety and efficiency of the US
National Airspace SystemThe National Airspace System of the United States is one of the most complex aviation systems in the world — consisting of thousands of people, procedures, facilities, and pieces of equipment — that enables safe and expeditious air travel in the United States and over large portions of the world's...
(NAS) as the legacy systems are replaced.
Airport Surveillance Radar is beginning to be supplemented by ADS-B
Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcastAutomatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast is a surveillance technology for tracking aircraft as part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System ...
in the US and other parts of the world. As of Spring 2011, ADS-B is currently operational and in use at the Philadelphia, PA TRACON and Louisville, KY TRACON. ADS-B is a GPS based technology that allows aircraft to transmit their GPS determined position to display systems as quickly as once every second as opposed to once every 4 seconds for a short range radar or once every 13 seconds for an even slower turning long range radar. The FAA is mandating that ADS-B be fully operational and available to the NAS by the year 2020. This will allow for older radars to possibly be decommissioned in order to increase safety and also cut costs. As of 2011, there is no definitive list of radars that will be decommissioned as a result of ADS-B.