Applicability of E-Scan Technology for Future Airport Aviation Weather Radars

Abstract

Efficiency, capacity, and safety improvements intended to accommodate future air traffic growth will require better predictions of the formation, extent, and movement of hazardous weather in the terminal area airspace. Precise prediction of hazardous weather phenomena such as convective storms, wind shear, and turbulence is a challenging task for meteorological radar to support at affordable cost. Rapid scanning with adequate resolution and improved interference rejection will be required. Although important advances such as Doppler wind measurements have appeared, meteorological radars still use the conventional mechanically scanned antenna and scanning remains constrained by mechanical inertia. This article reviews the current limitations and considers what improvement that might be gained via application of a more advanced antenna technology, that is, the phased array E-Scan antenna. E-Scan’s advantages for military air and space surveillance are well known; but meteorological applications have not been examined fully because the cost was prohibitive for civil systems. However, recent advances indicate that this technology may become affordable for future airport aviation weather radars. The study shows how E-Scan might provide the rapid updates needed for future predictive weather products, facilitate on-airport siting for better coverage, and allow a single radar to efficiently support a number of diverse meteorological functions. The article also assesses various critical risks associated with the introduction of E-Scan. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.