WAirborne Interception radar, Mark IV, or AI Mk. IV for short, was the world's first operational air-to-air radar system. Early Mk. III units appeared in July 1940 on converted Bristol Blenheim light bombers, while the definitive Mk. IV reached widespread availability on the Bristol Beaufighter heavy fighter by early 1941. On the Beaufighter, the Mk. IV arguably played a role in ending the Blitz, the Luftwaffe's night bombing campaign of late 1940 and early 1941.
WAirborne Interception radar, Mark VIII, or AI Mk. VIII for short, was the first operational microwave-frequency air-to-air radar. It was used by Royal Air Force night fighters from late 1941 until the end of World War II. The basic concept, using a moving parabolic antenna to search for targets and track them accurately, remained in use by most airborne radars well into the 1980s.
WThe AI.24 Foxhunter was an airborne radar carried by the Panavia Tornado ADV fighter aircraft and gave it an all-weather, day and night, beyond-visual-range engagement capability.
WAirborne Interception radar, or AI for short, is the British term for radar systems used to equip aircraft in the air-to-air role. These radars are used primarily by Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm night fighters and interceptors for locating and tracking other aircraft, although most AI radars could also be used in a number of secondary roles as well. The term was sometimes used generically for similar radars used in other countries.
WAIRPASS was a British airborne interception radar and fire-control radar system developed by Ferranti. It was the world's first airborne monopulse radar system and fed data to the world's first head-up display. The name is an acronym for "Airborne Interception Radar and Pilot's Attack Sight System". In the Royal Air Force (RAF) it was given the official name Radar, Airborne Interception, Mark 23, normally shortened to AI.23. AIRPASS was used on the English Electric Lightning throughout its lifetime.
WThe AMES Type 7, also known as the Final GCI, was a ground-based radar system introduced during World War II by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Type 7 was the first truly modern radar used by the Allies, providing a 360 degree view of the airspace around the station out to a distance of about 90 miles (140 km). It allowed fighter interceptions to be plotted directly from the radar display, a concept known as ground controlled intercept, or GCI.
WThe AMES Type 80, sometimes known by its development rainbow code Green Garlic, was a powerful early warning (EW) and ground-controlled interception (GCI) radar developed by the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) and built by Decca for the Royal Air Force (RAF). It could reliably detect a large fighter or small bomber at ranges over 210 nautical miles, and large, high-flying aircraft were seen out to the radar horizon. It was the primary military ground-based radar in the UK from the mid-1950s into the late 1960s, providing coverage over the entire British Isles.
WThe AMES Type 80, sometimes known by its development rainbow code Green Garlic, was a powerful early warning (EW) and ground-controlled interception (GCI) radar developed by the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) and built by Decca for the Royal Air Force (RAF). It could reliably detect a large fighter or small bomber at ranges over 210 nautical miles, and large, high-flying aircraft were seen out to the radar horizon. It was the primary military ground-based radar in the UK from the mid-1950s into the late 1960s, providing coverage over the entire British Isles.
WThe AMES Type 82, also widely known by its rainbow codename Orange Yeoman, was an S-band 3D radar built by Marconi and used by the Royal Air Force (RAF), initially for tactical control and later for air traffic control (ATC).
WThe AMES Type 85, also known by its rainbow code Blue Yeoman, was an extremely powerful early warning (EW) and fighter direction (GCI) radar used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as part of the Linesman/Mediator radar network. First proposed in early 1958, it was eleven years before they became operational in late 1968, by which time they were already considered obsolete. The Type 85 remained the RAF's primary air defense radar until it was replaced by Marconi Martello sets in the late-1980s as part of the new IUKADGE network.
WThe AN/FPS-117 is an L-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) 3-dimensional air search radar first produced by GE Aerospace in 1980 and now part of Lockheed Martin. The system offers instrumented detection at ranges on the order of 200 to 250 nautical miles and has a wide variety of interference and clutter rejection systems.
WARTHUR is an acronym for "Artillery Hunting Radar", is a Counter-battery radar system originally developed jointly for and in close co-operation with the Norwegian and Swedish armed forces by Ericsson Microwave Systems in both Sweden and Norway. It is also used by the British Army, under the name Mobile Artillery Monitoring Battlefield Radar, or Mobile Artillery Monitoring Battlefield Asset (MAMBA)
WRadar, Air-to-Surface Vessel, Mark II, or ASV Mk. II for short, was an airborne sea-surface search radar developed by the UK's Air Ministry immediately prior to the start of World War II. It was the first aircraft mounted radar of any sort to be used operationally. It was widely used by aircraft of the RAF Coastal Command, Fleet Air Arm and similar groups in the United States and Canada. A version was also developed for small ships, the Royal Navy's Type 286.
WRadar, Air-to-Surface Vessel, Mark III, or ASV Mk. III for short, was a surface search radar system used by RAF Coastal Command during World War II. It was a slightly modified version of the H2S radar used by RAF Bomber Command, with minor changes to the antenna to make it more useful for the anti-submarine role. It was Coastal Command's primary radar from the spring of 1943 until the end of the war. Several improved versions were introduced, notably the ASV Mark VI, which replaced most Mk. IIIs from 1944 and ASV Mark VII radar, which saw only limited use until the post-war era.
WThe Automatic Gun-Laying Turret (AGLT), also known as the Frazer-Nash FN121, was a radar-directed, rear gun turret fitted to some British bombers from 1944. AGLT incorporated both a low-power tail warning radar and fire-control system, which could detect approaching enemy fighters, aim and automatically trigger machine guns – in total darkness or cloud cover if necessary. The radar warning and fire-control system itself was commonly known by the code names Village Inn and "Z Equipment", as well as the serial number TR3548.
WThe AMES Type 85, also known by its rainbow code Blue Yeoman, was an extremely powerful early warning (EW) and fighter direction (GCI) radar used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as part of the Linesman/Mediator radar network. First proposed in early 1958, it was eleven years before they became operational in late 1968, by which time they were already considered obsolete. The Type 85 remained the RAF's primary air defense radar until it was replaced by Marconi Martello sets in the late-1980s as part of the new IUKADGE network.
WThe AMES Type 85, also known by its rainbow code Blue Yeoman, was an extremely powerful early warning (EW) and fighter direction (GCI) radar used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as part of the Linesman/Mediator radar network. First proposed in early 1958, it was eleven years before they became operational in late 1968, by which time they were already considered obsolete. The Type 85 remained the RAF's primary air defense radar until it was replaced by Marconi Martello sets in the late-1980s as part of the new IUKADGE network.
WChain Home, or CH for short, was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the Royal Air Force (RAF) before and during the Second World War to detect and track aircraft. Initially known as RDF, and given the official name Air Ministry Experimental Station Type 1 in 1940, the radar units themselves were also known as Chain Home for most of their life. Chain Home was the first early warning radar network in the world, and the first military radar system to reach operational status. Its effect on the outcome of the war made it one of the most powerful weapons of what is today known as the "Wizard War".
WChain Home Low (CHL) was the name of a British early warning radar system operated by the RAF during World War II. The name refers to CHL's ability to detect aircraft flying at altitudes below the capabilities of the original Chain Home (CH) radars, where most CHL radars were co-located. CHL could reliably detect aircraft flying as low as 500 feet (150 m). The official name was AMES Type 2, referring to the Air Ministry Experimental Station at Bawdsey Manor where it was developed, but this name was almost never used in practice.
WRadar, Field Artillery, No 15, better known as Cymbeline, was a widely used British mortar locating radar operating in the I band using a Foster scanner. Developed by Thorn-EMI and built at their now-defunct site at Hayes in Middlesex, it was in British service from 1975 until about 2003 with the Royal Artillery.
WThe Ferranti Blue Fox was a British multi-role airborne radar designed and built for the Royal Navy by Ferranti Defence Systems in the late 1970s. It had a mixed record in service, and was replaced by the more capable Blue Vixen.
WGun Laying radar, Mark I, or GL Mk. I for short, was an early radar system developed by the British Army to provide range information to associated anti-aircraft artillery. There were two upgrades to the same basic system, GL/EF and GL Mk. II, both of which added the ability to accurately determine bearing and elevation.
WRadar, Gun Laying, Mark III, or GL Mk. III for short, was a radar system used by the British Army to directly guide, or lay, anti-aircraft artillery (AA). The GL Mk. III was not a single radar, but a family of related designs that saw constant improvement during and after World War II. These were renamed shortly after their introduction in late 1942, becoming the Radar, AA, No. 3, and often paired with an early warning radar, the AA No. 4, which was also produced in several models.
WThe AMES Type 80, sometimes known by its development rainbow code Green Garlic, was a powerful early warning (EW) and ground-controlled interception (GCI) radar developed by the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) and built by Decca for the Royal Air Force (RAF). It could reliably detect a large fighter or small bomber at ranges over 210 nautical miles, and large, high-flying aircraft were seen out to the radar horizon. It was the primary military ground-based radar in the UK from the mid-1950s into the late 1960s, providing coverage over the entire British Isles.
WH2S was the first airborne, ground scanning radar system. It was developed for the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command during World War II to identify targets on the ground for night and all-weather bombing. This allowed attacks outside the range of the various radio navigation aids like Gee or Oboe, which were limited to about 350 kilometres (220 mi). It was also widely used as a general navigation system, allowing landmarks to be identified at long range.
WThe Improved United Kingdom Air Defence Ground Environment, normally shortened to either UKADGE or IUKADGE, was the Royal Air Force's (RAF) ground-controlled interception system covering the British Isles during the 1990s. It consisted of a number of ground-based radar sites, links to airborne early warning aircraft and Royal Navy ships, a telecommunications system to send digital data and voice communications on a protected network, and processing systems based on VAX-11/780 computers. The network ultimately contained a dozen long-range radars including four Marconi Martello, two General Electric TPS-592, and six Plessey AR-320.
WMonica was a range-only tail warning radar for bombers, introduced by the RAF in June 1942. Officially known as ARI 5664, it operated at frequencies of around 300 MHz. The system was also used by the US Army Air Forces, under the name AN/APS-13, and the nickname Archie.
WMan-portable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar (MSTAR) is a lightweight all-weather battlefield Doppler radar operating in the J band. It is usually used by artillery observers to acquire and engage targets in bad visibility or at night. It is capable of detecting, recognizing and tracking helicopters, slow moving fixed-wing aircraft, tracked and wheeled vehicles and troops, as well as observing and adjusting the fall of shot.
WThe AMES Type 82, also widely known by its rainbow codename Orange Yeoman, was an S-band 3D radar built by Marconi and used by the Royal Air Force (RAF), initially for tactical control and later for air traffic control (ATC).
WRX12874, also known as the Passive Detection System (PDS) and by its nickname "Winkle", was a radar detector system used as part of the Royal Air Force's Linesman/Mediator radar network until the early 1980s. Winkle passed out of service along with the rest of the Linesman system as the IUKADGE network replaced it.
WRadar, Anti-Aircraft No. 3 Mk. 7, also widely referred to by its development rainbow code Blue Cedar, was a mobile anti-aircraft gun laying radar designed by British Thomson-Houston (BTH) in the mid-1940s. It was used extensively by the British Army and was exported to countries such as Holland, Switzerland, Sweden Finland and South Africa. In British service, it was used with the 5.25 inch and QF 3.7 inch AA guns, as well as the Brakemine missile.
WROTOR was an elaborate air defence radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet bombers. In order to get it operational as quickly as possible, it was initially made up primarily of WWII-era systems, notably the original Chain Home radars for the early warning role, and the AMES Type 7 for plotting and interception control. The system had a network of control stations, mostly built underground, and connected with an extensive telephone and telex network.
WRX12874, also known as the Passive Detection System (PDS) and by its nickname "Winkle", was a radar detector system used as part of the Royal Air Force's Linesman/Mediator radar network until the early 1980s. Winkle passed out of service along with the rest of the Linesman system as the IUKADGE network replaced it.
WThe S1850M is a long range radar with a digital antenna array for wide area search in elevation. The S1850M is produced by BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies and Thales. It is a modified version of the Thales Nederland SMART-L radar. The S1850M is advertised as being capable of fully automatic detection, track initiation and tracking of up to 1,000 targets at a range of 400 kilometres (250 mi). It is also claimed to be highly capable of detecting stealth targets, and is able to detect and track outer atmosphere objects at short range, making it capable of forming part of a Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence system.
WThe SAMPSON is a multi-function dual-face active electronically scanned array radar produced by BAE Systems Maritime. It is the fire control radar component of the Sea Viper naval air defence system. It was previously designated PAAMS(S) to distinguish it from the PAAMS system on the Franco-Italian Horizon Class.
WSearchlight Control, SLC for short but nicknamed "Elsie", was a British Army VHF-band radar system that provided aiming guidance to an attached searchlight. By combining a searchlight with a radar, the radar did not have to be particularly accurate, it only had to be good enough to get the searchlight beam on the target. Once the target was lit, normal optical instruments could be used to guide the associated anti-aircraft artillery. This allowed the radar to be much smaller, simpler and less expensive than a system with enough accuracy to directly aim the guns, like the large and complex GL Mk. II radar. In 1943 the system was officially designated Radar, AA, No. 2, although this name is rarely used.
WSearchwater is a maritime surveillance radar developed by Thorn EMI under project P1149. This type of radar has been in service with the Royal Air Force Hawker Siddeley Nimrod aboard the MR2 variant since the 1970s.