AN/CPS-6

AN/CPS-6 Radar
Country of origin	United States
Manufacturer	General Electric
Introduced	1945
Type	Medium-range search/height finder
Frequency	S-band (2.7–3.01 GHz)
Pulsewidth	0.5 µseconds
Range	165 mi (266 km)
Altitude	45,000 ft (14,000 m)
Power	40 kw
Other Names	Minnie
Related	AN/CPS-6, 6A, 6B, AN/FPS-10

The AN/CPS-6 was an S-band medium-range search/height finder radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command. The radar was developed during the later stages of World War II by the MIT Radiation Laboratory with the first units produced by General Electric in mid-1945.

Subsequent development of the AN/CPS-6A and AN/CPS-6B models saw them produced at a plant in Syracuse, New York. The radar set consisted of two antennae, with one slanted at a 45-degree angle providing the height-finder capability. Designed to detect fighter aircraft at a range of 100 miles (160 km) and a height of up to 16,000 feet (4,900 m), the radar utilized five transmitters operating at S-band frequencies ranging between 2.700–3.019 GHz (111.0–99.3 mm). It required twenty-five people to operate the radar.

In 1949, an AN/CPS-6 radar was installed as part of the Lashup Radar Network at Twin Lights, New Jersey, proving capable of detecting targets at ranges of 84 miles (135 km). The first units of the follow-on AN/CPS-6B, ready for installation by mid-1950, saw fourteen of these assigned within the first permanent Lashup network.

A component designed to improve the radar's range was added in 1954. Tests showed the 6B-model had a range of 165 miles (266 km) with an altitude limit of 45,000 feet (14,000 m). A single radar unit with its ancillary electronic equipment required eighty-five freight cars for transport. The Air Force phased out the 6B-model between mid-1957 and mid-1959.

Another radar, developed from the CPS-6, was the AN/FPS-10. It was essentially a stripped-down version of the AN/CPS-6B.^[1] Thirteen of these units served within the first permanent Lashup network.

The Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS) required all U.S. military electronic systems to be assigned a unique identifying alphanumeric designation. In its simplest form, the nomenclature consists of the letters “AN” (for Army-Navy) placed ahead of a three-letter code followed by a hyphen and a 1 to 3 digit number.^[2]

• The first letter of the three-letter code denotes the type of platform hosting the electronic device, for instance A=Aircraft, C=Transportable, F=Fixed (land-based), S=Ship-mounted, etc.
• The second letter indicates the general type of equipment, where P=Radar, Q=Sonar, and R=Radio, etc.
• The third letter designates the specific intended function or purpose of the device, where G=Fire control, R=Receiving, S=Search, and T=Transmitting, and so on.
• The 1 to 3 digit number at the end of the JETDS designation usually denotes the next sequential device of that type developed.

Thus, the AN/FPS-10 designation represents the 10th design of an Army-Navy “Fixed, Radar, Search” electronic device.^[2][3]

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• List of military electronics of the United States

• Avionics Department (July 20, 2013), "Missile and Electronic Equipment Designations", Electronic Warfare & Radar Systems Engineering Handbook (4 ed.), Point Mugu, California: Lulu Press, Inc, ISBN 9781782665243
• Winkler, David F. (1997), "Radar Systems Classification Methods", Searching the Skies: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, Langley AFB, Virginia: Headquarters Air Combat Command, ISBN 9781907521911, LCCN 97020912

• MobileRadar.org radar system descriptions

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