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Tracking Radar: Basics, Operation, and Types

By RF Wireless Expert Team

This page covers the basics of tracking radar, including its operation and different types. A tracking radar detects a target, determines its location, and predicts its trajectory path.

Tracking Radar Operation

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a simple tracking radar.

tracking radar

  • As shown, the tracking operation in the radar relies heavily on angular information.
  • A very narrow antenna beam is used, allowing it to track only one target at a time. This is often achieved using range gating and Doppler filtering.
  • Range tracking is implemented using a timing control unit.
  • Doppler tracking is implemented using a Doppler gating unit.
  • The angle error signal is fed into a servo motor-based control system.
  • This servo system steers the antenna based on the error input, ensuring continuous tracking of the target.

Types of Tracking Radar

Here’s a list of common tracking radar types:

  • STT Radar (Single Target Tracking Radar)
  • ADT Radar (Automatic Detection and Tracking Radar)
  • TWS Radar (Track While Scan Radar)
  • Angle Tracking Radar
  • Phased Array Tracking Radar
  • Monopulse Tracking Radar

Explore More Radar Types & their working

| AESA Radar Working & Benefits | AESA Vs. PESA Radar | Angle Vs. Monopulse Tracking Radars | ARSR and ASR Airport Surveillance Radar | Automotive Radar | Coherent Vs. Non-Coherent MTI Radar | CW Radar | Doppler Radar | FMCW Radar | Frequency Scanned Radar | Ground Penetrating Radar | HFSWR Radar for aircraft detection | Millimeter Wave Radar | Missile Seeker Radar | Monopulse & Conical Scan Radar | Monostatic & Bistatic Radar | MTI Radar | Over The Horizon Radar | Pulsed Radar | Search & Tracking Radar | Surveillance Radar | TWS Radar | UWB Radar | Weather Radar | X-Band Radar |

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