Keynote: Electronically scanned radars for weather observations

Electronically scanned radar systems with pulse-to-pulse beam steering can significantly reduce the time required to perform weather observations. These radars fall into several classes of increasing complexity. The simplest class uses frequency scanned arrays to steer the beam in one dimension combined with mechanical scanning. Phase scanned arrays are more complex, but typically have better aperture efficiency and require less bandwidth. The most complex class, Active Electronically Scanned Arrays (AESA), with individual T/R modules at each element, are used extensively in high performance military radars, but their use for weather observations has been limited due to high cost. However, as solid state transmit/receive modules become more powerful, smaller, and dramatically less expensive, it becomes practical to consider their use in future weather radar systems. This presentation will introduce the various electronically scanned array techniques, overview the recent developments in T/R modules and discuss the potential of this technology for weather observation.