kugaman1
Flight distance : 3691 ft
United Kingdom
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Im an ex radar specialist of 23 years.To try and explain as simply as possible.
Primary radar transmits an electronic pulse and every pulse thats hits something reflects back into the radar reciever and is ultimately displayed on a screen.
Secondary radar sends out a signal and any aircraft that are so equipped respond to that signal. They respond with a 4 number code which tells the interrogator which agency is controlling the aircraft, or if the aircraft is VFR (not under ATC / Military control).
Generally, the military use primary and secondary radar, ATC use secondary.......generally.
Now the question, can a drone be seen on radar? Well, the answer is yes and no.
Yes it can be seen if its close enough to a primary radar. Its so small that it would need to be very close to the antenna in order for a transmitted pulse reflection to be recieved. However, this then leads into a problem area that every primary radar experiences......permanent echos. These are things close to the antenna that dont move and are permanently reflected back to the receiver. Things like hills, buildings, towers, etc.
For a drone to be detected, it would need to be so close to the antenna that it would get lost in amongst the permanent echos and therefore not be seen. Most radar systems process out these areas of permanent echos to save overloading the data handling systems.
Hop this helps?
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