17-09-2012, 12:19 PM
Tethered Aerostat Radar System
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System
The aerostats are large fabric envelopes filled with helium, and can rise up to an altitude of 15,000 feet
(4,600 m) while tethered by a single cable. The largest lifts a 1000 kg payload to an operating altitude
providing low-level, downward-looking radar coverage. The aerostat consists of four major parts or
assemblies: the hull and fin, windscreen and radar platform, airborne power generator, and rigging and
tether.
The hull of the aerostat contains two parts separated by a gas-tight fabric partition. The upper chamber is
filled with helium and provides the aerostat's lifting capability. The lower chamber of the hull is a pressurized
air compartment. The hull is constructed of a lightweight polyurethane-coated Tedlar fabric. An airborne
engine drives the generator, supplied by a 100-gallon diesel fuel tank.
Beginning in the late 1990s, the aerostat sites were equipped with Lockheed Martin 420K aerostats. This
blimp carries the Lockheed Martin L-88 as its primary payload, a surveillance radar with a range of 370 km
(200 nm). The 420K's envelope shape, fin design, and cable attachment points are further optimized for high
aerodynamic stability and easy ground handling. While Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the
420K aerostats, the envelopes are built by ILC Dover.
Operation
Operators launch the aerostat from a large circular launch pad containing a mooring fixed or mobile system.
The mooring systems contain a large winch with 25,000 feet (7,600 m) of tether cable. Operational
availability is generally limited only by the weather (60 percent standard) and routine maintenance
downtime. The aerostats are stable in winds below 65 knots (120 km/h). Aerostat and equipment availability averages more than 98 percent system-wide.
For security and safety reasons, air space around Air Force aerostat sites is restricted for a radius of at least
two to three statute miles and an altitude up to 15,000 feet (4,600 m).
Mission
The primary mission is to provide low-level radar surveillance along the southwest border of the United
States and Mexico, the Straits of Florida and the Caribbean in support of federal agencies involved in the
nation's drug interdiction program. The secondary mission is to provide North American Aerospace Defense
Command with low-level surveillance coverage for air sovereignty in the Florida Straits. The aerostat radar
data is available to NORAD and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
History
The first aerostats were assigned to the Air Force in December 1980 at Cudjoe Key, Fla. During the 1980s,
the U.S. Customs Service operated a network of aerostats to help counter illegal drug trafficking. Their first
site was built at High Rock, Grand Bahamas Island, in 1984. The second site was built at Fort Huachuca,
Ariz., in 1986. Before 1992, three agencies operated the TARS network: the Air Force, U.S. Customs
Service and U.S. Coast Guard. Congress in 1992 transferred management of the system to the Defense
Department, with the Air Force as executive agent. Under Air Force management, through contract
consolidation and system standardization, the operations and maintenance cost per site was reduced from $6
million in fiscal year 1992 to $3.5 million in 2007.