The AN/TPS-43 Story

Force asked industry to design a radar which would fulfill a unique set of requirements. In essence, theUSAF said: Build a new radar which will give us reliable long-range, three-dimensional performance comparableto that found typically in large fixed station sets, PLUS the rapid transportability, set-up, and disassemblytraditionally limited to tactical radars. In short, give us a radar which balances performance and mobility.

Westinghouse designed the AN/TPS-43 to meet and exceed this stringent, and sometimes technicallyconflicting, set of specifications. The production record of the AN/TPS-43 is testimony to the wisdom of theUSAF's design philosophy.

Today, we are producing more TPS-43 radars than ever before. At this writing, a total of 106 radar sets havebeen ordered by 12 nations. Half of this total are for the new "E" model.The USAF alone has reordered the TPS-43 three times.

The "E" model's design is the latest refinementof the USAF's philosophy. It is a unique blend of improvementsbased on experience gained from thousands of hours of field deployment and battlefield use, and theincorporation of modern digital and solid state techniques.

The AN/TPS-43E is presented in detail on the pages which follow.

Field proven: ACost-effectiveTactical 3-D Radar System

• MOBILITY• MAINTAINABILITY

• RELIABILITY• PERFORMANCE

The AN/TPS-43E radar system is a lons-ranse,field-proven tactical radar currently beins builtfor the U.S. Air Force and several othercountries.

This radar detects hish speed, low-flyinsaircraft and provides three-dimensional (ranse,azimuth and heisht) data for aircraft trackins andintercept control. The AN/TPS-43E can provideautonomous aircraft surveillance and control. Itcan also be interfaced with manual or auto-mated command and control systems.

The AN/TPS-43E besan its expected Ions-term service life in 1977 with the USAF andother users.

Autonomous OperationThe AN/TPS-43E system consists of two completelyself-contained packases: an operations/radarelectronics shelter and an antenna pallet.

The radar shelter's built-in operations capabilityenables the AN/TPS-43E to serve as an autonomousair surveillance and control site. This shelter housestwo complete operator positions. Each positioncontains an AN/UPA-62 display console for aircrafttrackinsand intercept control, an AN/UPA-59 activeand passive decoder which provides IFF/SIF(identification friend or foe/selective identificationfeature) information, and a digital height readoutunit to pinpoint individual target height. Eachposition also has ground-to-air and ground-to-groundcommunications equipment.

The shelter interior is desisned to permit easy, rapidaccess to all controls for radar operation andmaintenance. The frequency agile transmitter, in thebackground, is accessible simply by loosening fourscrews on its door.

Remoted OperationWestinshouse can also incorporate a disitaltarget extractor (DTE) which provides aninterface with an automated air surveillance andcontrol system. The DTE correlates ranse,azimuth, heisht and IFF data and transformsradar sisnals into concise plot messases whichcan be transmitted over telephone lines or radiochannels to an associated operations centerlocated miles from the antenna.

The use of a DTE also allows radar nettinswhere data from several AN/TPS-43E's can betransmitted to a central command and controlcenter. This capability reduces site manningrequirements, and places the decision-makingprocess at a higher echelon where data fromseveral radars can be correlated into an overallair defense system.

The AN/TPS-43E provides analog data for usewith manual display and operations proce-dures, and provides digital outputs for digitaldata processing, storage, and display. The radaris therefore compatible with most types ofoperations centers, from the simplest manual tothe most sophisticated automated type.

Ample space is provided within the radar shelter for installation of all DTE equipment. The monitorand test panel(above left) is installed on the shelter's right wall behind the first operator position. The operator control panel(above center) is installed in the overhead console, and the DTE (above right) is installed in space providedbelow the radar signal processor unit.

Simple, Rapid MobilityThe self-contained antenna pallet consists of theantenna system and auxiliary equipmentarransed in a highly mobile package. Theantenna folds into a single unit suitable for allmodes of military transport.

Both the radar equipment shelter and theantenna pallet can be transported by helicopter,truck, one C-130 cargo aircraft, or towed onmobilizers. Both are also equipped with skids,lifting rings, and leveling pads.

The AN/TPS-43E is highly survivable becauseits highly mobile configuration permits rapiddispersal, in turn lowering the radar system'svulnerability.

Once on site, the AN/TPS-43E can be totallyoperational in approximately one hour. Dis-assembly requires only 30 minutes.

High AvailabilityThe AN/TPS-43E is ready for use when needed.Tactical field experience has demonstrated agreater than 95 percent operational availability.Routine adjustments and preventive mainte-nance requirements have been minimized.Built-in fault isolation, plug-in replacement, andmore than 200 hours mean-time-between-failure(MTBF) allow military technicians to maintainthe radar without special site equipment.

Antenna Assembly

Once on site, the AN/TPS-43E can be totallyoperational in approximately one hour. Eachstep requires only two men with no specialtools or lifting equipment. The reflector israised (1 & 2) using built-in gears. Next, thetwo side panels are unfolded (3, 4 and 5),rotated, and locked into place. The feedarray (6) installs by lifting and latching ittoitsoperating position and attaching a support-ng brace on each side. The IFF antenna (7)and small radar reference antenna are sim-ilarly installed.

Field Experience Nets Design improvementsData collected from thousands of hours ofoperational field deployment have providedWestinshousewith useful information toimplement desisn improvements in the "E"model. The net result has been a tactical radarwhich balances high performance, versatileoperational capability and low life cycle cost.

For example, Westinghouse implementeddigital signal processing and microwaveintegrated circuits in designing and packagingthe radar receiver, moving target indication(MTI) unit, and signal processor (shown on farright).

The radar's circuits have been simplifiedand grouped functionally, making subsystemmaintenance easier and reducing its size andweight. An entire search receiver channel is ononly one printed circuit card. Total processingcircuitry is on just 72 component boards, andthere are only 31 board types.

This design not only reduces subsystemcomplexity and volume, but also lowersspares cost.

Clutter Rejection FeaturesThe AN/TPS-43E rejects clutter caused by Sroundreflections or weather, and resists electronicinterference caused byjammins. Its clutter rejectionfeatures include phase-coded pulses, pulse-to-pulsefrequency agility, digital moving target indication(DMTI), and constant false alarm rate (CFAR).

Phase-coded pulse transmission increases targetdetection capability by decreasing the effects ofground clutter, weather, and chaff. Decoding of thephase-coded return signals improves rangeresolution, helps negate repeater jammers, andreduces the effect of swept or noise jamming.

Frequency agility, including pulse-to-pulsefrequency changes, helps foil repeater jammers,while image-reject mixers attenuate interference fromwide-band jammers. Narrow azimuth beamwidthand blanking sidelobe features also help eliminateinterference of all types.

A reference channel may be used by the operatorto determine when sidelobe blanking is necessary.This channel is also used for jamming analysis andtransmission selection(JATS). In this mode, JATS automatically selects theleast jammed frequency to reduce the effect ofjamming. Weathervideo can also be displayed.

Digital MTI enables the operator to distinguishmoving aircraft from ground clutter or chaff. A three-pulse canceller is implemented to provide CFAR processing automatically adjusts the

level of receiver sensitivity, maintaining aconstantly low level of false alarms. Thisprocessing helps reject weather clutter andelectronic interference and prevents the overloading of indicators and automatic targetdetection devices in a jamming environment.

Operators enjoy a comparatively "clutter-free" display—a characteristic of the AN/TPS-43E which makes itwell-suited for use with automated air defense systems.

up to 30 decibels of MTI improvement, and astaggered pulse-repetition frequency (PRF)eliminates all MTI blind speeds. A digitalimplementation of MTI has permitted Westing-house to simplify MTI hardware design and toimprove reliability by the extensive use ofintegrated circuits.

integrated logistic SupportOnce delivered, Westinghouse can offer a completeintegrated logistic support package tailoredspecifically to meet customer requirements.

Logistic support personnel help make our groundradar systems supportable—and affordable—starting with the initial design. The system is builtwith reliability and maintainability in mind, with oursupport plan developing together with thesystem—logically and systematically. Our designersand logistic experts strike the best balance betweenhigh performance and low support cost. It is design-to-cost in its fullest sense... design to life cycle cost.

The Westinghouse Integrated Logistic SupportDivision offers any one or all of the following:management... maintenance engineering ...manuals... training ... test equipment... spares...provisioning data... field operations... fieldintegration services... and support facilities such ascomplete depots.

Our logistic support program is diverse andflexible. We tailor it to meet your specific needs.Westinghouse supports AN/TPS-43 radar systemsat 54 locations in 8 countries. Soon we will besupporting 120 locations in 12 countries.

We maintain modern classrooms equipped withclosed-circuit television in one complete building atour Integrated Logistic Support Division. In adjacentlaboratories, students learn how to operate entireground radar systems, such as the AN/TPS-43E. Ourinstructors also have taught at many customerlocations around the world.

Westinghouse can provide complete, turnkeyelectronic facilities to repair, maintain, and modifynot only ground systems but a full range ofelectronics equipment.

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AN/TPS-43 E Characteristics

12

Small Target Detection