FPS-117

 Long Range 3D Radar Set - A 3D Radar set for Air surveillance/defense and air traffic control. Originally built by General Electric now Lockheed Martin.

This radar is a solid-state, L-band, 3-D system designed to provide long-range aircraft range, azimuth and height detection. The US and Canada have deployed 15 radars in Alaska, 11 in Canada, and one each in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Hill AFB is the logistics center for the FPS-117 and the facility there is known as Hill Air Force Base Engineering Facility (E-FAC). The radars are part of the Air Force's Atmospheric Early Warning System.

This radar is classed as minimally attended, designed to be remotely operated and diagnosed from maintenance control centers. Travel to remotely located sites is limited to periodic maintenance and emergency repairs.

Radar System
The 24' by 24' planar antenna array rotates on a pedestal usually at the top of a tower covered with a rigid radome. The FPS-117 has a pencil beam capability that allows customization of beam patterns to deal with terrain and clutter issues. The pencil beam architecture offers a -6 degree “look down” capability from elevated sites to detect aircraft at lower levels and a 20-degree upper view.

The planar antenna is made up of 44-row transceivers, 44-row feed assemblies, four-column feed assemblies, and 12-row power supplies. The exciter and final receiver are mounted at the base of the antenna itself.

Beacon System
A separate beacon system with Mode 4 and Mode S Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems is usually provided. The beacon antenna is mounted on top of the FPS-117 radar sail.

FPS-117 3D Radar
See Also:
 * US Radar Sets

Sources:
 * Lockeed Martin - Press Release 7 Nov 2011
 * Lockeed Martin - Press Sheet
 * Forcast International - FPS-117(V)/TPS-77V
 * Parker, David Parcel, Structural Integrity Investigation of the AN/FPS-117 Radar and Radar Tower, Master of Science Thesis, Mechanical Engineering Department, The University of Utah, August 2014, Pdf.

Links:
 * Radomes - FPS-117
 * Wikipedia - FPS-117
 * Military Aerospace - Lockheed Martin to continue project to upgrade FPS-117 long-range surveillance radars 16 Dec 2012