Monopulse Radar

A monopulse radar is similar in general construction to conical scanning systems, but introduces one more feature. Instead of broadcasting the signal out of the antenna "as is", they split the beam into parts and then send the two signals out of the antenna in slightly different directions. When the reflected signals are received they are amplified separately and compared to each other, indicating which direction has a stronger return, and thus the general direction of the target relative to the boresight. Since this comparison is carried out during one pulse, which is typically a few microseconds, changes in target position or heading will have no effect on the comparison.

Making such a comparison requires that different parts of the beam be distinguished from each other. Normally this is achieved by splitting the pulse into two parts and polarizing each one separately before sending it to a set of slightly off-axis feed horns. This results in a set of lobes, usually two, overlapping on the boresight. These lobes are then rotated as in a normal conical scanner. On reception the signals are separated again, and then one signal is inverted in power and the two are then summed. If the target is to one side of the boresight the resulting sum will be positive, if it's on the other, negative. If the lobes are closely spaced, this signal can produce a high degree of pointing accuracy within the beam, adding to the natural accuracy of the conical scanning system.

Monopulse radar was first introduced by Robert M. Page in 1943 in a Naval Research Laboratory experiment. It was a high tech device at the time and, as a result, it was very expensive and generally more difficult to maintain. It was only used when extreme accuracy was needed that justified the cost. Early uses included the Nike Ajax missile, which demanded very high accuracy, or for tracking radars used for measuring various rocket launches. An early monopulse radar development, in 1958, was the AN/FPS-16, on which NRL and RCA collaborated. The earliest version, XN-1, utilised a metal plate lens. The second version XN-2 used a conventional 3.65 meter parabolic antenna, and was the version which went to production. These radars played an important part in the Mercury, Gemini, and early Apollo missions, being deployed in Bermuda, Tannarive, and Australia, among other places for that purpose.

Monopulse radar is still the most widely used technique for military tracking radar because of its high accuracy and relative immunity to electronic countermeasures that degrade other tracking methods.