TABLE OF CONTENTS Maurice W. Long
Private Consultant Atlanta, Georgia
The primary mission of airborne early warning (AEW) is to detect, classify, and track distant air targets, and to direct the simultaneous interception of multiple threat forces. However, the AEW system also performs (often simultaneously) other tasks, such as the coordination of search and rescue and airborne rendezvous control (e.g., airborne-tanker join-ups).
Modern AEW began with an ordinary search radar on a small airplane and a simple radio data link to a command center. Today, AEW entails the integration of an advanced radar with numerous sophisticated onboard sensors. In addition to fixed wing aircraft, AEW platforms now include aerostats and helicopters, and sensor data via sophisticated radio links are available to and from land, sea, and space-based platforms. Therefore, this book must necessarily cover a broad range of topics.
The book was written for the engineer, scientist, or manager with an interest in AEW concepts. Most of the chapters are at a basic or intermediate level; thus the chapters need not be read in a particular order. Chapters 2, 3, 6, and 8 through 11 are recommended reading for all AEW-oriented persons. Chapter 4 was included as background on radar for readers who are not electronics specialists. Chapters 5, 7, and 12 address radar detection in noise and clutter, target tracking, and automatic target recognition. These specialized chapters contain mathematical material that some readers will find difficult to read. Even so, because of the importance of these subjects to future AEW...
