Aerodynamically shaped, tethered balloons, commonly referred to as aerostats, provide high-endurance and cost-effective platforms for many airborne early warning applications. This chapter describes modern aerostats and support systems, their advantages and problems, and the radar sensors used on board.

Chapter Contents:

• 11.1 Introduction
• 11.2 History
• 11.3 Advantages of Aerostat Platforms
• 11.4 Aerostat Systems
• 11.5 Aerostat Performance
• 11.6 Surveillance Coverage
• 11.7 Types of Aerostat Radars
• 11.8 Clutter Rejection
• 11.9 Metric Accuracy
• 11.10 Command and Data Links

Inspec keywords: balloons; airborne radar; airships; sensors

Other keywords: aerostat radar systems; cost effective platform; support system; high endurance; airborne early warning application; radar sensors; tethered balloons

Subjects: Sensing devices and transducers; Radar equipment, systems and applications; Atmospheric, ionospheric and magnetospheric techniques and equipment