Over-The-Horizon Radar: Better Justification Needed for DoD Systems' Expansion

Abstract

OTH-B WAS developed to support the North American Aerospace Defense Command's (NORAD) continental air defense mission. This mission consists of (1) tactical warning and attack assessment, the primary element for detecting, tracking, and assessing threat targets; (2) airspace control, the secondary element for controlling access to U.S. and Canadian airspace; and (3) damage limitation, the tertiary element, should an attack on North America ever occur. OTH-B WAS specifically designed to provide early warning of an attack by detecting and tracking bomber-size (Large and medium) aircraft. In the 1980s, DOD established a goal for OTH-B to detect and track cruise missiles (small targets), although a formal requirement was never established. This goal was recently suspended pending evaluation of a small target detection performance report and funding priorities.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA267331

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • C4I
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Defense
  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Command And Control
  • Command And Control Systems
  • Contracts
  • Control Systems
  • Cruise Missiles
  • Department Of Defense
  • Detection
  • National Security
  • Procurement
  • Radar
  • Research Facilities
  • Test And Evaluation
  • United States

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Missile Defense Systems.
  • Radar Systems Engineering.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Space Objects