The present invention is an airborne radar system which scans the flight path of an aircraft with two radar scans, an upper elevation scan pointing above local level and a lower elevation scan pointing below the glide slope. The radar returns from the upper elevation scan are used to detect the core of the microburst. The core and a model of the windshear which uses the core are used to select angles and range cell candidates, in a lower elevation scan, for hazard detection processing. The candidates in the lower scan, which is pointing at the ground, are used to create a hazard map tested against a predetermined hazard threshold. A threshold violation results in a pilot alert. The hazard map includes a vertical factor determined through model coefficients in the radial outflow as a function of altitude. The invention applies the model to determine the total hazard factor along the glideslope using the vertical hazard of the model and altitude scaling of the horizontal hazard from the lower bar elevation to the glideslope of the aircraft. A colored hazard map can be displayed to the pilot allowing the pilot to select an abort direction based on the area of the highest hazard. The present invention also includes a radar scan with two pulse repetition frequencies which allows the elimination of non-correlated returns. The system also includes post detection integration with a sliding azimuth window to enhance the signal to noise ratio. The system also combines velocities within a single range gate to produce a velocity representing the windspeed at that range. To further enhance the determination of the windburst hazard an oriented and specially shaped window is used in an ordered constant false alarm rate process to remove ground clutter from the lower scan.

Windshear radar system with upper and lower elevation radar scans

A system and method for detecting, processing, and displaying weather radar information which uses multiple scans, at differing antenna tilt angles, to generate a single displayed image. This can be used to reduce displaying of ground clutter returns and to simultaneously increase the range of weather information displayed on a single image.

Multi-sweep method and system for detecting and displaying weather information on a weather radar system

A system and method for suppressing ground clutter in avionics weather radars which includes automatically making multiple scans, closely spaced in time and space, and comparing the returning signals to known ground return signals over known tilt angle variations.

Method and system for suppressing ground clutter returns on an airborne weather radar

A system and method for detecting, processing, and displaying ground mapping radar information which uses multiple scans, at differing automated antenna tilt angles, to generate a single displayed image. This can be used to increase the scanned area of a ground display so as to allow a complete sampling of the ground ahead of the aircraft.

Multi-sweep method and system for mapping terrain with a weather radar system

A system and method for enhancing turbulence detection, display and alerting with avionics weather radars which includes automatically making multiple scans, measuring a wind velocity gradient at varying elevations, and comparing the measured gradient to known predetermined wind velocity gradients over known elevation variations, wherein the predetermined gradients have known vertical shear components, and using a vertical shear component information in making determinations regarding the existence of turbulence.

Method and system for detecting turbulence with reduced errors resulting from vertical shear components

A function generator is connected to an airborne phased array radar antenna for steering a beam between high and low positions. During receiving on the high beam, the generator blanks long range target signals. During the low beam, the generator blanks short range target signals. A receiver is connected to the output of the antenna and a display is connected to the receiver output. By sequentially switching between low and high beams, with the described blanking, short and long range targets are displayed simultaneously, relatively free of ground clutter.

George M Kirkpatrick

Papers

Phased array sequential switching between short and long distance targets