Comments on "HAL-3 radar test set"

The author comments on a paper by Fang, Z. et al. published in ibid., vol. 30, no. 3 (July 1994). He suggests that a brief description of the HAL3 radar would have given the Transactions reader a better understanding of the function of this test set. The HAL-3 radar was developed by SUST for installation in the Chinese civil Y-10 transport aircraft, but that was cancelled. The HALS is an airborne weather radar which also provides navigation capability. A combination of functions is rare according to information in the International Radar Directory files on radars of the world. It operates at X-Band with a peak output power of 60 kW, a pulse-repetition frequency (PRF) of 400 pps, pulsewidth of 2.2-2.5 us, antenna gain of about 36 dB, and receiver noise factor of approximately 10 dB. In the navigation role it can detect the drift angle with a I deg accuracy and simultaneously measure aircraft ground speed. It has conventional weather radar capability. The test set can be used with many airborne weather radars though appropriate interface cables. Use of extensive display information in the language of the user (presently in Chinese) makes this test set extremely user friendly for radar maintenance technicians.<>