Multi-mission Phased Array Radar update

Multi-mission Phased Array Radar (MPAR) is NSSL’s newest radar frontier, a technology with the potential to significantly increase warning lead times and the capability to perform multiple functions. The National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT) was created in Norman, OK, by a government/university/industry team consisting of NOAA's NSSL, the Tri-agency (Departments of Commerce, Defense and Transportation) Radar Operations Center (ROC), the United States Navy's Office of Naval Research, Lockheed Martin Corporation, the University of Oklahoma's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and School of Meteorology, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) William J. Hughes Technical Center and Basic Commerce and Industries, Inc. (BCI) to investigate the application of the PAR's electronically steerable antennas to weather observations. The NWRT became operational in 2003.

Recent PAR developments include the capability to operate the PAR remotely from any location with Internet, allowing the NWRT to be a truly national facility. Researchers from across the nation can remotely access the NWRT in support of their research. Beam multiplexing has also been recently implemented, a feature that allows an increase in scanning speed by a factor of two.

One of the most exciting features of the PAR is its potential to be used for weather and aircraft surveillance, simultaneously. NSSL and its partners along with the Office of the Federal Coordinator of Meteorology have developed an ambitious plan to explore the transition from a multitude of radar systems, used for aircraft surveillance and weather observations, to the single MPAR (Multi-mission Phased Array Radar). Significant cost savings are anticipated in addition to increased functionality. As a first step, the FAA/BCI has installed an aircraft tracking system on the NWRT for testing the multifunction capabilities of the radar. They are exploring the PAR aircraft tracking capabilities and have found that the PAR aircraft tracks were consistent with data obtained from air traffic control reports for flights into and out of Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, OK. Plans to build a early-prototype MPAR are underway.