This is what the F-16's fire control radar display looks like when a target is locked:Along the top we have a lot of information about what our radar target is doing:With this information, the pilot gets a much better idea of what the aircraft is doing, but at the expense of information about other aircraft in the area.Note that in the above picture, the bottom-most (closest) target is locked (circle around it), the two targets further away are tracked (yellow squares), and there are two radar returns even further away (white bricks). The Congress on Wednesday welcomed the arrival of Rafale fighter jets in India, but questioned the delay and their high cost. )Note that the cursors are over the bottom-most brick (closest to our aircraft). Without a radar lock, the seeker head scans the sky looking for "bright" (hot) objects, and when it finds one, it plays a distinctive whining tone to the pilot. How do fighter jets detect that a guided missile is locked on them?

Because the radar is only scanning, not tracking, no other information is available about the radar targets. For heat-seeking missiles, a radar lock is only used to train the seeker head onto the target. Aircraft radars typically have two modes: search and track. Fighters have radar warning recievers that let the pilot know if they are being "painted" and by what type of targeting radar, as different models have different characteristics. In some cases, the RWR can tell if the radar is in launch mode (sending radar data to a passive radar-guided missile), or if the radar is that of an active radar-guided missile. In search mode, the radar sweeps a radio beam across the sky in a zig-zag pattern. But this radar is on a one-way trip, so it’s considerably less expensive (and less powerful) than the aircraft’s radar. This camera is connected to image processor that is able to tell apart vehicles and buildings from surrounding terrain, and track moving targets. A targeting pod is a very powerful camera mounted on an articulating swivel that allows it to look in nearly every direction. This can also be used by the target aircraft to identify the type of radar being used, and therefore possibly, the type of aircraft.In this display, the RWR has detected an F-15 (15 with a hat on it indicating aircraft) at the 7-o'clock position. In the above photo, you can see two vertical bars spanning the height of the display -- these are the azimuth scan limits. They are to be formally inducted in the Indian air force by mid-August. Many ground vehicles use laser rangefinders as well, and some aircraft include a laser warning system (LWS) that works similarly to an RWR, but displays incoming laser signals instead.Now you can get the top stories from Gizmodo delivered to your inbox. This is the SNIPER XR targeting pod:And this is what the pilot sees when he operates it:The pod is able to track vehicles day and night, using visual or infra-red cameras. This is not a recommended strategy if there are friendly aircraft in close proximity to the enemy.As to the last part of your question — yes, an aircraft can tell if a radar is painting it or locked onto it. If a sound plays continuously, the radar has locked onto our aircraft and is in track mode, and thus the pilot's immediate attention is demanded. save hide report. It is possible to fire an active radar missile with no radar lock (so-called “maddog”); in this case, the missile will fly until it’s nearly out of fuel, and then it will turn on its radar and pursue the first target it sees. How does a fighter jet track targets. Note that the RWR has no way of knowing if a heat-seeking missile is on its way to our aircraft.Aside from radar, there are other technologies that are used to lock on to enemy aircraft and ground targets. The second problem lies in the fact that Sparrows rely on semiactive radar detection for homing in on the enemy.

Well now the HUD looks like this:No death dot — but you still have the funnel. How do fighter jets detect that a guided missile is locked on them? If a sound plays continuously, the radar has locked onto our aircraft and is in track mode, and thus the pilot’s immediate attention is demanded. The RWR computer has determined the SA-6 to be the highest priority threat in the area, and thus has enclosed it with a diamond.RWR also has an audio component. These “beam riders” follow a laser beam emanating from the aircraft to the target. Enter your email below. Lock on for radar guided missiles involves, well, radar. These are Russian SAM launching radars and represent a serious threat. This is displayed as the small white trend line originating from each brick. The strength of the radar is plotted as distance from the center -- the closer to the center, the stronger the detected radar signal, and therefore possibly the closer the transmitting aircraft.Detected at the 12- to 1-o'clock position are two surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites, an SA-5 "Gammon" and an SA-6 "Gainful". Super simple.But what if there’s no radar lock? Because the radar is actually tracking a target, and not just displaying bricks when it gets a reflection back, it can tell the pilot a lot more about the target.

In search mode, the radar sweeps a radio beam across the sky in a zig-zag pattern. In track mode, the radar focuses its energy on a particular target. This means that once the missile is fired, the F-15 must continue to fly toward the target to bounce radar signals off it for the missile to follow. A chirp is a distinctive waveform that a radio uses. (There is one exception: The Doppler shift of the radar return can be measured, to estimate how fast the aircraft traveling towards or away from you, much like the pitch of an oncoming train's whistle can tell you how fast it's coming at you. The sound is also an important cue to tell the pilot what the radar is doing: If the sound plays once, or intermittently, it means the radar is only painting our aircraft (in search mode). The primary technology that a military aircraft uses to lock and track an enemy aircraft is its onboard radar. This can also be used by the target aircraft to identify the type of radar being used, and therefore possibly, the type of aircraft.In this display, the RWR has detected an F-15 (15 with a hat on it indicating aircraft) at the 7-o’clock position. Because different radars “sound” different, pilots learn to recognise different airborne or surface threats by their distinctive tones. Engineering.