Radars are a fixture of modern warfare. For decades they have provided the ability to detect missiles, planes, ships, and tanks from great distances, sometimes even hundreds of miles away, to armed forces. Since WWII, they have become absolutely vital for the modern defense of national borders and monitoring perimeters of armed conflict over land, sea, and air.
However, big, fancy radar systems have their drawbacks. Which is why small, lightweight, man-portable radars are surging forward to fill the crucial and dangerous small gaps left in contested environments by large radar systems.
The Issue with Large Radar Systems
The first issue is the weight and size of most radar systems. Large military radar systems, mounted on ships, planes, and at key military positions, weigh hundreds or thousands of pounds and often cost millions of dollars each. And while these large radar systems are great at picking up large threats at long distances, they are difficult to move around and aren’t built for detecting smaller threats, such as smaller vehicles, smaller boats, on-foot intruders, and drones.
And even if they weren’t difficult to move to most locations, it would be prohibitively expensive and risky to bring such large, valuable pieces of equipment so close to all the front-line encampments of warfighters.
One of the reasons larger radar systems struggle to pick up on smaller threats is that it’s easier for smaller threats to stay close to the ground. Close-to-the-ground targets avoid radar detection by hiding behind the interfering “ground clutter” that gets thrown up by changes in elevation, buildings, trees, and the like. This concept of “flying under the radar” is becoming more and more dangerous as small, on-foot warfighter teams and even more especially small drones are becoming more of a mainstay in modern warfare, terrorism, and unrest.
Even if large radar systems could be relied upon to detect small, low-to-the-ground targets, it can be difficult to get them in an ideal place to do so. Most large radar systems are difficult to move as they are fixed onto the decks of ships or built into the bodies of planes, and so must go wherever those ships or planes go. Still others, while not quite so fixed, are still very large, sometimes many meters in length, very heavy, and very expensive. This makes moving them both impractical and risky.
There simply is no large radar system that is suitable for mobile use in the field to monitor relatively small areas for small threats. This is a problem as modern explosives and other military technologies have multiplied the amount of damage just one small target can do. Some small drones, for example, can carry up to ten pounds of explosive material.
All of these reasons are why small, man-portable radars are rapidly increasing in use.
What is a Man-Portable Radar?
Exactly what it sounds like. It’s a radar system that is small and lightweight enough to be carried by warfighters. These man-portable radar systems operate off of a small, portable power supply, so they can be set up almost anywhere. These smaller radar systems excel at picking out small targets, for example on-foot intruders, vehicles, boats, or drones at distances of up to 1500 m away.
Like other radars, these small-form compact radars can reliably detect targets through fog, darkness, snow, rain, smoke, or any other environmental obscurant. Once a target is detected, live tracking information of that target is displayed on the user interface, providing real time data to decision makers to enhance their situational awareness and expedite their decision making.
Examples of man-portable radar uses include:
- A small team of warfighters setting up perimeter security and surveillance around a temporary holding position or camp during a field operation. They are able to detect anyone or anything approaching through the surrounding smog.
- Temporary surveillance over a road, canyon pass, or other vital transportation transition point, monitoring for drone activity or any ground threats that may be setting up an ambush or planting IEDS.
- A command and control/triage center set up in an urban environment monitors all main avenues of approach, ensuring the center isn’t snuck up on during the night-time hours.
The Original Man-Portable Radar: Spotter Global’s TRK™
Spotter Global invented the man-portable radar. Back in 2009, Spotter Global produced the world’s first compact radar that could be carried by a warfighter in the field, powered by a portable battery, pack-to-track in under five minutes, trainable in under 30 minutes, and capable of detecting potential threats from many hundreds of meters away.
A typical Tactical Radar Kit™(TRK™) includes a desert-sand camouflage backpack, a compact radar, a mounting tripod, one 2557 Battery, two 20’ rugged ethernet cables, and Panasonic Toughpad to display the radar target detection and tracking data. The entire kit weighs 16.5 lbs, making it easy to carry and easy-to-use for warfighters making their way through uncertain territory.
To date, Spotter Global Tactical Radar Kits™ (TRKs™) have been shipped out to protect warfighters in areas of armed conflict all over the world. To better accommodate varying warfighter needs, the TRK™has come to include an expedited service option and a wide range of customization options including different radar models (C550EXT, C550M, C40M, C20M, CK5M), solar power options, and extra batteries.
Conclusion
Man-portable radars are a vital tool for warfighters in 21st-century zones of armed conflict. As one prominent military strategist put it: “Mobility is the greatest force multiplier of them all”. And now that radar systems are more mobile, we can be sure that they are and will continue to exert a force multiplying effect on the efforts of warfighters across the globe.
By allowing warfighters the ability to monitor small- to mid-sized areas for smaller targets in any environment, man-portable radar systems help prevent and mitigate the significant threat posed by small targets to vital military locations and mobile operations.These lightweight, relatively inexpensive, portable radar kits can be used to protect teams of mobile warfighters, temporary outposts and holding positions, borders, convoy routes, and other important locations from explosive-laden and reconnaissance drones and on-foot or vehicle-mounted warfighters.
This will make it easier for warfighters to complete their assigned missions and return home safely.