Development and Deployment of an X-band Reflect-Array Radar

The Weathernews Inc. (WNI) has been operating an adaptive, X-band, weather radar network in Japan since 2010, now with nearly eighty radars making up the network. The first radar design, referred to as the "WITH Radar", is an integration of a commercial airborne weather radar, signal-processing unit, and pedestal with the goal of minimizing both initial and maintenance costs. Since 2013, WNI and the University of Oklahoma (OU) have been collaborating on the development of a custom, low-cost, portable X-band weather radar. Using a unique dual-feed reflect-array design, the radar can observe two elevation angles simultaneously doubling the temporal resolution for a volume scan time. In this talk, the overall design will be provided along with initial results from its test site in Norman, Oklahoma.