Sundari Selvi

Scottish physicist Robert Alexander Watson-Watt invented radar exactly 100 years ago. The method of using radio waves to locate objects has steadily evolved since then. Radar has repeatedly benefited from advances in radio technology, including digital modulation, beamforming with phased array antennas and the extension of the usable frequency range to the millimeterwave band. Today, shortrange radars for vehicles are produced in large numbers and are only as large as the palm of your hand. Radars for military applications utilize all available technologies to achieve information superiority and have to be able to handle complex signal scenarios. Since security and lives often depend on radars functioning properly, it is essential that they undergo extensive tests in development labs and in the field. No special radar T&M equipment is required for these tests. The articles in this issue of NEWS show that intelligently configured standard RF instruments – provided they are top-end in terms of performance – can supply the necessary information. Oscilloscopes are the right tools for testing vehicle radars that operate in the 80 GHz frequency range. Thanks to their multichannel design, they act as phase coherent receivers to compare up to four paths of a radar antenna array (page 22). The performance of radar receivers for electronic support measures must be verified in field tests