The ALCOR C-band imaging radar

Kwajalein Atoll, resting 9°north of the equator and 3,500 km southwest of Hawaii, is the location of the United States Army Kwajalein Missile Range (KMR). KMR assets include a wide variety of radars, optical sensors, telemetry, missile-launch equipment, flight safety, and communications. Its radar suite, in particular, includes several highly sensitive one-of-a-kind systems. The ARPA-Lincoln C-Band Observables Radar (ALCOR) is one of four KMR instrumentation radars located on the island of Roi-Namur. Since ALCOR first began operations in 1970, it has provided C-band beacon and wideband metric and signature observations for a wide variety of range-user requirements. ALCOR has the capability to produce two-dimensional range Doppler images of near-Earth-orbiting and reentering objects. Modifications to ALCOR, its current system architecture, and future direction are described in this paper The authors provide an overview of ALCOR radar waveforms and resolution capabilities. A system description is provided, including the C-band transmitter, receiver, antenna, and digital systems.