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110-567: The Jindalee Operational Radar Network ( JORN ) is an over-the-horizon radar (OHR) network operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) that can monitor air and sea movements across 37,000 square kilometres (14,000 sq mi). It has a normal operating range of 1,000–3,000 kilometres (620–1,860 mi). The network is used in the defence of Australia , and can also monitor maritime operations, wave heights and wind directions. JORN's main ground stations comprise

220-592: A Microwave Landing System (MLS) called Interscan . Many of these developments were undertaken jointly with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Australian Department of Civil Aviation . Some of these products are now produced and supported by Interscan Navigation Systems, which for some years was a privately held stand-alone company, but is now a fully owned subsidiary of Indra Sistemas ,

330-506: A Telefunken wireless agent. The first chairman was Hugh Denison . Ernest Fisk , a foundation director, was general and technical manager. In 1916 he became managing director and in 1932 chairman. The Marconi Company sued the Australian government in 1912, for infringing their patent (and AWL issued writs against firms using Marconi equipment), the government decided in future to use circuits designed by John Balsillie . Eventually

440-548: A 1 MW transmitter and a separate receiver was installed in Maine , offering coverage over a 60-degree arc between 900 and 3,300 kilometres (560 and 2,050 mi). A permanent transmitting facility was then built at Moscow AFS , a receiving facility at Columbia Falls Air Force Station , and an operational center between them in Bangor, Maine . The coverage could be extended with additional receivers, providing for complete coverage over

550-510: A 180-degree arc (each 60 degree portion known as a "sector"). GE Aerospace was awarded the development contract, expanding the existing east coast system with two additional sectors, while building another three-sector system on the west coast, a two-sector system in Alaska , and a one-sector system facing south. In 1992, the Air Force contracted to extend the coverage 15 degrees clockwise on

660-427: A 20- kilowatt power amplifier giving a total power of 560 kW. Stage B transmitted 20 kW per amplifier. The signal is bounced off the ionosphere , landing in the "illuminated" area of target interest. Much incident radiation is reflected forward in the original direction of travel, but a small proportion "backscatters" and returns along the original, reciprocal transmission path. These returns again reflect from

770-649: A 60-degree arc, for a total coverage arc of 240 degrees over the western, southwestern, southeastern, and eastern approaches to North America, including the Gulf of Mexico, the land area of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean west and south of Mexico. The CRS would also cover near-shore areas along both the eastern and western coasts of North America that are not covered by the ECRS and WCRS because the OTH-B system functions only at

880-494: A 64-degree wedge-shaped area at ranges from 500 to 1,600 nautical miles (925 to 3,000 km). ROTHR was originally intended to monitor ship and aircraft movement over the Pacific, and thus allow coordinated fleet movements well in advance of an engagement. In 1991, a prototype ROTHR system was installed on the isolated Aleutian Island of Amchitka , Alaska, monitoring the eastern coast of Russia. It remained in use until 1993, and

990-689: A Spanish defence and ICT contractor. AWA engineers were also working with Marconi in England on television systems from 1948, and in 1954 AWA provided the first experimental TV broadcast in Australia during Queen Elizabeth II's Australian Royal Tour. From 1948 to 1991, under its Aviation Division, AWA held the contract to install and maintain the avionics of the Australian domestic airlines (Ansett-ANA, later Ansett Australia and Trans Australia Airlines , later Australian Airlines). The Aviation Division

1100-663: A consequence of the duration of its construction, the JORN delivered in 2003 was designed to a specification developed in the early 1990s. During this period the Alice Springs radar had evolved significantly under the guidance of the Defence Science & Technology Organisation . In February 2004 a fifth phase of the JORN project was approved. Phase 5 aimed to upgrade the Laverton and Longreach radars to reflect over

1210-670: A control centre, known as the JORN Coordination Centre (JCC), at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia and three transmission stations: Radar 1 near Longreach, Queensland , Radar 2 near Laverton, Western Australia and Radar 3 near Alice Springs , Northern Territory . The roots of the JORN can be traced back to post World War II experiments in the United States and a series of Australian experiments at DSTO Edinburgh, South Australia beginning in

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1320-784: A decade of OTHR research and development. It was scheduled to run until approximately the year 2011, but was completed around 2013/2014 due to skills shortage. All three stations are now similar, and use updated electronics. In March 2018 it was announced that BAE Systems Australia would undertake the $ 1.2   billion upgrade to Australia’s Jindalee Operational Radar Network, which was expected to take 10 years to complete. The JORN project (JP2025) has had 5 phases, and has cost approximately $ 1.8   billion. The ANAO Audit report of June 1996 estimated an overall project cost for Phase 3 of $ 1.1   billion. Phase 5 costs have been estimated at $ 70   million. Phase 6 costs expect to be $ 1.2   billion. JORN consists of: DSTO previously used

1430-605: A distance greater than 500 nmi from the receive antennas. Thus, CRS would complete coverage of those areas, overlapping the surveillance areas of the ECRS and WCRS. With the end of the Cold War, the influence of the two senators from Maine was not enough to save the operation and the Alaska and southern-facing sites were canceled, the two so-far completed western sectors and the eastern ones were turned off and placed in "warm storage," allowing them to be used again if needed. By 2002,

1540-425: A landmark case in Australia, there were legal proceedings against auditors for failing to identify the trading, as well as cross claims against the company's directors, the foreign exchange trader and the banks involved. As a result, later that year AWA radio stations 2GN Goulburn, 3BO Bendigo, 3MP Melbourne, 4CA Cairns, 4TO Townsville and 6KY Perth were purchased by Wesgo for A$ 40 million. In 1988,

1650-409: A large distance to prevent the transmitter from interfering with the receiver. The JORN transmitter and receiver sites are: The Alice Springs radar was the original 'Jindalee Stage B' test bed on which the design of the other two stations was based. It continues to act as a research and development testbed in addition to its operational role. The Mount Everard receiver site contains the remains of

1760-557: A more sensitive and capable radar. Trials were carried out with the Royal Australian Air Force during April 1984, substantially fulfilling the mission of stage B, to demonstrate an OHR operating in Australia. Another two years of trials were carried out before the Jindalee project officially finished in December 1985. Stage 'C' became the conversion of the stage B radar to an operational radar. This stage saw substantial upgrades to

1870-734: A non-allocated, non-interference basis through the use of Dynamic Spectrum Management . Additional developments included improved range performance, better positional accuracy and reduction of false tracks and earlier track initiation. In June 2019, MAEROSPACE was granted a global license to design,, manufacture, and internationally market the Canadian HFSWR System and its derivatives. A number of OTH-B and OTH-SW radars are reportedly in operation in China. However, transmission from these radars causes much interference to other international licensed users. One set of Chinese OTH-B radars

1980-453: A rapidly decaying signal at increasing distances over ground and many such broadcast stations have limited range. However, seawater, with its high conductivity, supports groundwaves to distances of 100 kilometres (62 mi) or more. This type of radar, surface-wave OTH, is used for surveillance, and operates most commonly between 4 and 20 MHz. Lower frequencies enjoy better propagation but poorer radar reflection from small targets, so there

2090-592: A reported range of 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi). It is currently operational. Beginning as early as the 1950s, the Soviet Union had also studied OTH systems. The first experimental model appears to be the Veyer (Hand Fan), which was built in 1949. The next serious Soviet project was Duga , built outside Mykolaiv on the Black Sea coast near Odessa . Aimed eastward, Duga first ran on 7 November 1971, and

2200-569: A series of ionospheric soundings evaluating the suitability of the ionosphere for the operation of an OTHR. Phase 2, Project Jindalee , aimed at proving the feasibility and costing of OHR. This second phase was carried out by the Radar Division, (later, the High Frequency Radar Division), of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO). Project Jindalee came into being during the period 1972–1974 and

2310-411: A small amount of movement can be seen using this process, speeds as low as 1.5 knots (2.8 km/h). This basic concept is used in almost all modern radars, but in the case of OTH systems it becomes considerably more complex due to similar effects introduced by movement of the ionosphere. Most systems used a second transmitter broadcasting directly up at the ionosphere to measure its movement and adjust

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2420-510: A tangent to the system, or objects moving at a similar speed to their surroundings. JORN received an Engineering Heritage International Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program . Over-the-horizon radar The frequency of radio waves used by most radars, in the form of microwaves , travel in straight lines. This generally limits the detection range of radar systems to objects on their horizon (generally referred to as "line of sight" since

2530-437: A target 10 m (33 ft) high can be detected by the same radar at 26 km (16 mi). Siting the antenna on a high mountain can increase the range somewhat; but, in general, it is impractical to build radar systems with line-of-sight ranges beyond a few hundred kilometres. OTH radars use various techniques to see beyond that limit. Two techniques are most commonly used; shortwave systems that refract their signals off

2640-675: A technology evaluation in 2000 and were subsequently upgraded and operationally evaluated in 2002. The following is a quote from the October 2002 Operational Evaluation (OPEVAL) performed by Canadian Department of National Defence: "HFSWR is a beneficial addition to the Recognized Maritime Picture (RMP). Of all the data sources evaluated, it was the only sensor offering near real-time information updates. It provided frequent reporting and generally demonstrated reliable tracking of surface targets in its area of coverage. When

2750-458: Is also reportedly able to detect stealth aircraft, as typically these are designed only to avoid detection by microwave radar. Project DUNDEE was a cooperative research project, with American missile defence research, into using JORN to detect missiles . The JORN was anticipated to play a role in future Missile Defense Agency initiatives, detecting and tracking missile launches in Asia. As JORN

2860-497: Is found on Google Maps for the transmitter and receiver . France developed an OTH radar called NOSTRADAMUS during the 1990s (NOSTRADAMUS stands for New Transhorizon Decametric System Applying Studio Methods (French: nouveau système transhorizon décamétrique appliquant les méthodes utilisées en studio ).) In March 1999, the OTH radar NOSTRADAMUS was said to have detected two Northrop B-2 Spirits flying to Kosovo. It entered service for

2970-549: Is known that no further research was carried out by Soviet teams until the 1960s and 70s. Much of the early research into effective OTH systems was carried out under the direction of Dr. William J. Thaler at the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). The work was dubbed "Project Teepee" (for "Thaler's Project"). Their first experimental system, MUSIC ( Multiple Storage, Integration, and Correlation ), became operational in 1955 and

3080-448: Is made up of vertical ionosondes, providing a real time map of the ionosphere. Each vertical incidence sounder (VIS) is a standardized Single-Receiver Digisonde Portable Sounder, built by University of Massachusetts Lowell for the JORN. A new ionospheric map is generated every 225 seconds. In a clockwise direction around Australia , the locations of the twelve (11 active and one test) JORN ionosondes are below. The DSTO ionosonde network

3190-491: Is not part of the JORN, but is used to further DSTO's research goals. DSTO uses Four-Receiver Digisonde Portable Sounders (DPS-4), also built by Lowell. During 2004 DSTO had ionosondes at the following locations. From west to east, the seven JORN transponders are located at All of the above sites (and many more that likely form part of the network) can be found precisely on the RadioFrequency Map, which also lists

3300-590: Is operational since January 2015 on the French Mediterranean coast to showcase the 24/7 capabilities of the system that is now offered for sale by DIGINEXT. India has developed a variety of long and short range radars. Although it doesn't have an operational over the horizon radar at present, India's Swordfish Long Range Tracking Radar , a part of India's missile defense system has a maximum range of 800 kilometres (500 mi) currently being upgraded for 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). DRDO 's LRDE

3410-498: Is reliant on the interaction of signals with the ionosphere ('bouncing'), disturbances in the ionosphere adversely affect performance. The most significant factor influencing this is solar changes, which include sunrise, sunset and solar disturbances. The effectiveness of JORN is also reduced by extreme weather, including lightning and rough seas. As JORN uses the Doppler principle to detect objects, it cannot detect objects moving at

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3520-410: Is useful only for early warning, not for weapons fire. Another problem is that the refraction process is highly dependent on the angle between the signal and the ionosphere, and is generally limited to about 2–4 degrees off the local horizon. Making a beam at this angle generally requires enormous antenna arrays and highly reflective ground along the path the signal is being sent, often enhanced by

3630-426: Is usually an optimum frequency that depends on the type of target. A different approach to over-the-horizon radar is to use creeping waves or electromagnetic surface waves at much lower frequencies. Creeping waves are the scattering into the rear of an object due to diffraction , which is the reason both ears can hear a sound on one side of the head, for instance, and was how early communication and broadcast radio

3740-431: Is working on a prototype OTH radar. The design work of system is already complete and a prototype OTH is expected to realised by late 2021. The prototype will have two different types of arrays and itself will determine best frequency to use to track objects. After successful trials of existing system, India is expected to develop a large OTH radar based on same design. Iran is working on an OTH radar called Sepehr , with

3850-593: The Ashfield works under the AWV, RCA and Radiola brands. During World War II AWV produced a range of defence electronics materiel, including klystrons and magnetrons for radar equipment. In 1958 AWV commercialised research work by the AWA Research Laboratories to set up a plant to manufacture transistors and AWA Semiconductors was born. AWA continued to distribute products from RCA Semiconductor into

3960-707: The Department of Defence appropriated and operated the Ballan facility for military radio operations, eventually returning it to civilian operations with the Overseas Telecommunications Commission (OTC). OTC joined with Telecom Australia in 1992 to form the Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation, later to become Telstra . AWA continued in maritime operations supplying marine radio operators to Australian registered vessels. The AWA Marine Division with its headquarters in

4070-406: The Royal Australian Air Force . Jindalee is a multistatic radar (multiple-receiver) system using OTH-B, allowing it to have both long range as well as anti- stealth capabilities. It has an official range of 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi), but in 1997 the prototype was able to detect missile launches by China over 5,500 kilometres (3,400 mi) distant. Jindalee uses 560 kW compared to

4180-501: The Sea of Japan . A newer system has recently been used for coastal surveillance in Canada, and is now offered for sales by Maerospace, Australia has also deployed a High Frequency Surface Wave Radar. AWA Technology Services AWA Technology Services , formerly named Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd , is an Australian communications technology company. Throughout most of

4290-527: The geomagnetic poles , where the action of the solar wind on the earth’s magnetosphere produces convection patterns in the ionospheric plasma . Engineers in the Soviet Union are known to have developed what appears to be the first operational OTH system in 1949, called "Veyer". However, little information on this system is available in Western sources, and no details of its operation are known. It

4400-597: The ionosphere for very long-range detection, and surface wave systems, which use low-frequency radio waves that, due to diffraction , follow the curvature of the Earth to reach beyond the horizon. These systems achieve detection ranges of the order of a hundred kilometres from small, conventional radar installations. They can scan a series of high frequencies using a chirp transmitter . The most common type of OTH radar uses skywave or "skip" propagation, in which shortwave radio waves are refracted off an ionized layer in

4510-409: The microwave frequency band. Also, unlike most microwave radars, JORN does not use pulsed transmission, nor does it use movable antennas. Transmission is Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW), and the transmitted beam is aimed by the interaction between its "beam-steering" electronics and antenna characteristics in the transmit systems. Radar returns are distinguished in range by the offset between

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4620-543: The 1930s, AWA Aviation Department (later Aviation Division) operated the major avionics servicing organisation in Australia and Papua New Guinea through a number of service depots located at major and secondary airports, with a large workshop located in Airport West , Victoria. During World War II , the Marconi School trained an extensive number of military personnel in signals and communications. Additionally,

4730-417: The 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for more than 30 years. Research was initiated in 1984 with the re-purposing of a decommissioned LORAN-A navigation beacon for undertaking experimentation in aircraft, vessel and iceberg tracking. Research continued for the next decade and in 1999, Canada’s installed two SWR503 HFSWR systems at Cape Race and Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland. The sites underwent

4840-690: The AWA head office until the 1990s and is now listed on the NSW State Heritage Register . Immediately after World War II through to the 1980s, AWA was extensively involved in the design, development and manufacture of advanced aeronautical communications, navigation and surveillance systems. These systems included the VHF Aural Range (VAR), Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) for airborne use and ground beacons, VHF Omni Range (VOR), Air Traffic Control systems (known as AWANET) and

4950-505: The Canadian systems was halted due to concerns over the potential for harmful interference with primary spectrum users. In 2010 the unique capability of HFSWR to provide low cost surveillance of the EEZ resulted in a re-evaluation of the technology and subsequent development of a 3rd Generation, (3rd Gen) HFSWR system based on the principle of sense-and-adapt technology that enabled operation on

5060-699: The French army in 2005 and is still in development. It is based on a star-shaped antenna field, used for emission and reception (monostatic), and can detect aircraft at a range of more than 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi), in a 360-degree arc. The frequency range used is from 6 to 30 MHz. Launched officially in 2009, the French STRADIVARIUS research project developed a new over-the-horizon radar (High Frequency Surface Wave Radar – HFSWR) capable of monitoring maritime traffic up to 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) offshore. A demonstration site

5170-638: The HFSWR system was combined with other data sources, there was a synergistic effect that improved the overall quality of the RMP. Furthermore, from the analysis of the potential contribution to the surveillance-related Force Planning Scenarios, it was evident that the RMP would benefit from the addition of the HFSWR as a new data source." International sales of the SWR503 radar followed with operational systems installed in Asia (2008) and Europe (2009). In 2007 operation of

5280-554: The Solomon Islands, and may include Singapore . However, in 1997, the prototype was able to detect missile launches by China over 5,500 kilometres (3,400 mi) away. JORN is so sensitive it is able to track planes as small as a Cessna 172 taking off and landing in East Timor 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) away. Current research is anticipated to increase its sensitivity by a factor of ten beyond this level. It

5390-549: The Sydney suburb of Leichhardt continued to wholesale marine communications and radar equipment to the Australian maritime and leisure-boating market into the mid-1980s. The AWA Building at 45-47 York Street, Sydney was completed in 1939 becoming an instant landmark with its art-deco style and large white radio tower on top (in the shape of the Eiffel Tower) and was the tallest building in Australia until 1958. It remained

5500-522: The UK by RIS/RBE and included products and services such as Reditune Background Music, CCTV, Hotel Audio Distribution and Specialist Information Display Systems. In 1974 AWA-Rediffusion branched into the television sales and rental market setting up a chain of retail shops under their Redihire name. Colour television arrived in Australia in March 1975, around ten years after the UK. and Redihire had been preparing for

5610-500: The United Kingdom to Australia was received in 1918 by AWA with then Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes , praising the troops he has just inspected on the western front. In 1930, AWA transmitted the first newsreel pictures from Sydney to London . The Australian Government, requiring a direct radio service with the UK - in lieu of submarine cables - commissioned AWA to create a service in 1922. The government boosted

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5720-509: The United States' OTH-B's 1 MW, yet offers far better range than the U.S. 1980s system, due to the considerably improved electronics and signal processing. The OTH 0100 Radar is capable of monitoring vessels beyond 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) away from shore, exceeding the direct line of sight of conventional radars. Canada has been investigating the use of High Frequency Surface Wave Radar (HFSWR) for surveillance of

5830-413: The aircraft must be at least theoretically visible to a person at the location and elevation of the radar transmitter) due to the curvature of the Earth. For example, a radar mounted on top of a 10 m (33 ft) mast has a range to the horizon of about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi), considering atmospheric refraction effects. If the target is above the surface, this range will be increased accordingly, so

5940-508: The anti-drug trafficking role. The third, and final, production system was installed in Puerto Rico, extending anti-drug surveillance past the equator, deep into South America. Another common application of over-horizon radar uses surface waves, also known as groundwaves. Groundwaves provide the method of propagation for medium-wave AM broadcasting below 1.6 MHz and other transmissions at lower frequencies. Groundwave propagation gives

6050-439: The atmosphere, the ionosphere , and return to Earth some distance away. A small amount of this signal will be scattered off desired targets back towards the sky, refracted off the ionosphere again, and return to the receiving antenna by the same path. Only one range of frequencies regularly exhibits this behaviour: the high frequency (HF) or shortwave part of the spectrum from 3–30 MHz. The best frequency to use depends on

6160-718: The cable companies, was inaugurated on 8 April 1927 and terminated on 31 May 1969. In 1928, it established a similar service between Australia and Canada. In April 1930 the Empire radiotelephone service commenced. The Australian Government in 1922 granted AWA exclusive rights to operate the Coastal Radio Service (CRS), a network of maritime radio stations that eventually included stations in New Guinea which had been hurriedly installed when Japan entered World War II . The Overseas Telecommunications Act 1946 resulted in

6270-455: The company was renamed "AWA Limited", and in August sold its telephone manufacturing and related businesses to Exicom . A year later, AWA Computer Support Services was established as an independent business unit. In the early 1990s, unable to compete with cheaper imported appliances, AWA exited the field of domestic appliances and consumer electronics, and focused on industrial technology. In

6380-444: The conditions of the atmosphere and the sunspot cycle . For these reasons, systems using skywaves typically employ real-time monitoring of the reception of backscattered signals to continuously adjust the frequency of the transmitted signal. The resolution of any radar depends on the width of the beam and the range to the target. For example; a radar with 1 degree beam width and a target at 120 km (75 mi) range will show

6490-567: The continental United States and Alaska. In early 2014, Russia announced a new system, called Container , that was to see over 3000 km. Podsolnukh (Sunflower) - Coast-horizon shortwave station short-range radar. Designed to detect surface and air targets at a distance of 450 kilometres (280 mi). Designed for use in coastal surface and air control systems within the 200-mile (320 km) economic zone. "Sunflower" allows operators to automatically and simultaneously detect, track and classify up to 300 offshore and 100 air objects beyond

6600-573: The creation of the Overseas Telecommunications Commission and ownership of the CRS was transferred to this new organisation on 1 October 1946. In effect, all overseas telecommunications was nationalised. Australia was adopting a Commonwealth-wide policy that had been adopted the Commonwealth conference in 1945. The main goal was to end the artificial routing of traffic to cable or wireless depending on private financial profits. With its commencement in

6710-543: The early 1950s. In 1969, The Technical Cooperation Program membership and papers by John Strath prompted development of a core Over the Horizon radar project. From July 1970 a study was undertaken; this resulted in a proposal for a program to be carried out, in three phases, to develop an over-the-horizon-radar system. Phase 1, Project Geebung , aimed to define operational requirements for an OHR and study applicable technologies and techniques. The project carried out

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6820-434: The early 1960s. In May 2010, the employee at the centre of 1987's foreign exchange losses, Andrew Koval, was extradited from the United States to face criminal charges. He had previously defended a civil suit in relation to the matter. In February 2014 AWA Limited voluntarily appointed administrators because it may have been insolvent . In May 2014 the company was purchased by Mount Waverley based Cabrini Health Limited,

6930-530: The earth, traveling beyond the horizon. Echos reflected off the target return to the transmitter location by the same path. These ground waves have the longest range over the sea. Like the ionospheric high-frequency systems, the received signal from these ground wave systems is very low, and demands extremely sensitive electronics. Because these signals travel close to the surface, and lower frequencies produce lower resolutions, low-frequency systems are generally used for tracking ships, rather than aircraft. However,

7040-495: The ensuing years. This division of AWA (later known as the Ashfield Division) was also the Australian distributor for many audio equipment manufacturers, including Tannoy , Revox , and AKG Acoustics . AWA-Rediffusion, a company jointly owned by Rediffusion International and AWA Limited, was formed in 1971. The business was a platform to enter the Australian market with Rediffusion systems similar to those offered in

7150-673: The equipment was later removed into storage. The first production systems were installed in the test site in Virginia for acceptance testing, but were then transitioned to counter the illegal drug trade , covering Central America and the Caribbean . The second production ROTHR was later set up in Texas, covering many of the same areas in the Caribbean, but also providing coverage over the Pacific as far south as Colombia . It also operates in

7260-467: The event for over a year with six shops opening in and around the Sydney area with the company's headquarters in Roseville, New South Wales . Television rental accounted for around twenty percent of the initial market and Redihire adopted a 'rent or buy' marketing approach from the onset majoring on existing models that were being made for AWA-Thorn by Mitsubishi Electric of Japan. In 1975, AWA brought

7370-411: The feasibility of OTHR. The success of stage A resulted in the construction of a larger stage 'B' radar, drawing on the knowledge gained from stage A. Stage 'B' commenced on 6 July 1978. The new radar was constructed next to the stage A radar. Developments during stage B included real time signal processing, custom built processors, larger antenna arrays, and higher power transmitters, which resulted in

7480-468: The first Pick minicomputer system to Australia, and set up a computer services arm. In 1977 AWA MicroElectronics was formed to design and manufacture integrated circuits and established a fully operational wafer foundry , integrated circuit fabrication facility and design centre. The group was a joint venture between AWA Ltd (64%), British Aerospace (25%) and the NSW Government (11%). This group

7590-410: The first, smaller, 'Jindalee Stage A' receiver. It is visible in aerial photos, behind the stage B receiver ( 23°31′48″S 133°41′16″E  /  23.530074°S 133.68782°E  / -23.530074; 133.68782 ). The stage A transmitter was rebuilt to become the stage B transmitter. The high frequency radio transmitter arrays at Longreach and Laverton have 28 elements, each driven by

7700-480: The four planned OTH-B systems would establish a surveillance zone around the east, west, and south perimeters of North America. The Central Radar System (CRS) was needed to complete the perimeter coverage of the southern approaches to North America. It was also needed to cover the near-shore ocean areas not covered by the East Coast and West Coast OTH-B systems. The CRS would consist of four sectors, each covering

7810-557: The frequencies in use at each site. The JORN network is operated by No. 1 Remote Sensor Unit (1RSU). Data from the JORN sites is fed to the JORN Coordination Centre at RAAF Base Edinburgh where it is passed on to other agencies and military units. Officially the system allows the Australian Defence Force to observe air and sea activity north of Australia to distances up to 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi). This encompasses all of Java, Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea and

7920-643: The high-frequency Tactical Multi-Mission Over the Horizon Radar (TACMOR), a technology prototype to expand air and maritime awareness over the Western Pacific . In 2022 construction of a TACMOR radar station in Palau was agreed, expected to be operational in 2026. The United States Navy created their own system, the AN/TPS-71 ROTHR ( Relocatable Over-the-Horizon Radar ), which covers

8030-543: The initial Jindalee Over The Horizon Radar trials. AWA Defence Industries (AWADI) was formed in October 1988 by the merger of the defence electronics business of AWA with those of Thorn EMI Electronics Australia and Fairey Australasia. AWADI was sold to British Aerospace Australia (now BAE Systems Australia ) in April 1996. With Radio Corporation of America (RCA), AWA established a joint venture (Amalgamated Wireless Valve Co. Pty Ltd) to manufacture radio valves (vacuum tubes) at

8140-403: The installation of wire mesh mats extending as much as 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) in front of the antenna. OTH systems are thus very expensive to build, and essentially immobile. Given the losses at each refraction, this "backscatter" signal is extremely small, which is one reason why OTH radars were not practical until the 1960s, when extremely low-noise amplifiers were first being designed. Since

8250-439: The instantaneous radiated signal frequency and the returning signal frequency. Returns are distinguished in azimuth by measuring phase offsets of individual returns incident across the kilometres-plus length of the multi-element receiving antenna array. Intensive computational work is necessary to JORN's operation, and refinement of the software suite offers the most cost-effective path for improvements. The JORN ionosonde network

8360-522: The ionosphere, finally being received at the Longreach and Laverton stations. Signal attenuation, from transmit antenna to target and finally back to receive antenna, is substantial, and its performance in such a context marks this system as leading-edge science. The receiver stations use KEL Aerospace KFR35 series receivers. JORN uses radio frequencies between 5 and 30 MHz, which is far lower than most other civilian and military radars that operate in

8470-674: The late 1980s, AWA established AWASCo Pty Ltd, a joint venture with Serco of the UK. The company provided facilities management services to federal and state agencies, and eventually Serco purchased AWA's share to form Serco Australia. In the early 1990s, unable to compete with cheaper imported appliances, AWA exited the field of domestic appliances and consumer electronics, instead to focus on industrial technology. In 1991, AWA purchased Melbourne radio station 3XY, relaunching it in 1992 as 3EE The Breeze . The station attracted good weekend audience ratings due to broadcasts of Australian Football League matches, but its Monday to Friday audience share

8580-702: The mid-1980s. AWA was a major manufacturer of television receivers under the AWA Radiola Deep Image brand from the mid-1950s until the relaxation of import tariffs under the Whitlam government in the early 1970s. With the increased competition in the marketplace, AWA joined forces with Thorn Electrical Industries UK in 1973 to create AWA-Thorn Consumer Products Limited, to produce colour televisions in Australia. Thorn colour television receivers modified for Australia were marketed as AWA or Thorn models, with local improvements being made to these over

8690-455: The names imply, both of the NRL systems relied on the comparison of returned signals stored on magnetic drums . In an attempt to remove clutter from radar displays, many late-war and post-war radar systems added an acoustic delay line that stored the received signal for exactly the amount of time needed for the next signal pulse to arrive. By adding the newly arrived signal to an inverted version of

8800-457: The new company's capital and became its majority shareholder. In 1926, the company established two large beam wireless stations on 180 hectare sites; a receiver site in Victoria at Rockbank near Melbourne and a transmitter site at Ballan near Ballarat which eventually become known as Fiskville . A shortwave beam radiotelegraph service between Australia and Britain, undercutting

8910-501: The prime contractor and a fixed price contract for the construction of the JORN was signed on 11 June 1991. The JORN was to be completed by 13 June 1997. Telstra was responsible for software development and systems integration, areas in which it had no previous experience. GEC-Marconi was responsible for the HF Radar and related software aspects of the project, areas in which it had no previous experience. Other unsuccessful tenderers for

9020-450: The project included experienced Australian software development and systems integration company, BHP IT, and experienced Australian defence contractor AWA Defence Industries . Both of these companies are no longer in business. By 1996, the project was experiencing technical difficulties and cost overruns. Telstra reported a A$ 609-million loss and announced that it could not guarantee a delivery date. The failed Telstra contract prompted

9130-615: The project to enter a fourth phase. Phase 4 involved the completion of the JORN and its subsequent maintenance using a new contractor. In February 1997 Lockheed Martin and Tenix received a contract to deliver and manage the JORN. Subsequently, during June 1997 Lockheed and Tenix formed the company RLM Group to handle the joint venture. An operational radar system was delivered in April 2003, with maintenance contracted to continue until February 2007. In August 2008, Lockheed Martin acquired Tenix Group's interest in RLM Holdings. As

9240-416: The radar station near Alice Springs , Northern Territory (known as Jindalee Facility Alice Springs) for research and development and also has its own network of vertical/oblique ionosondes for research purposes. The Alice Springs radar was fully integrated into the JORN during Phase 5 to provide a third active radar station. Each radar station consists of a transmitter site and a receiver site, separated by

9350-559: The radar, or PRF. For long-range use, the PRF was very long to start, and deliberately changed to make different ranges come into view. For this role, the delay line was not usable, and the magnetic drum, recently introduced, provided a convenient and easily controlled variable-delay system. Another early shortwave OTH system was built in Australia in the early 1960s. This consisted of several antennas positioned four wavelengths apart, allowing

9460-534: The radio horizon, and provide their coordinates to the targeting systems and armaments of ships and air defense systems. The radar passed state tests in 2008. Three stations are on duty, in the Sea of Okhotsk , the Sea of Japan , and the Caspian Sea . The first truly operational development was an Anglo-American system known as Cobra Mist , which began construction in the late 1960s. Cobra Mist used an enormous 10 MW transmitter and could detect aircraft over

9570-406: The returns of the main radar in real-time. Doing so required the use of computers , another reason OTH systems did not become truly practical until the 1960s, with the introduction of solid-state high-performance systems. A second type of OTH radar uses much lower frequencies, in the longwave bands. Radio waves at these frequencies can diffract around obstacles and follow the curving contour of

9680-495: The shortwave radio bands led to its being known as the "Russian Woodpecker" by amateur radio (ham) operators. The Soviet Union eventually shifted the frequencies they used, without admitting they were even the source, largely due to its interference with certain long-range air-to-ground communications used by commercial airliners. A second system was set up near Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East, also covering

9790-515: The signal refracted from the ground, or sea, will be very large compared to the signal refracted from a "target", some system needs to be used to distinguish the targets from the background noise. The easiest way to do this is to use the Doppler effect , which uses frequency shift created by moving objects to measure their velocity. By filtering out all the backscatter signal close to the original transmitted frequency, moving targets become visible. Even

9900-402: The signals stored in the delay line, the output signal included just the changes from one pulse to the next. This removed any static reflections, like nearby hills or other objects, leaving only the moving objects, such as aircraft. This basic concept would work for a long-range radar as well but had the problem that a delay line has to be mechanically sized to the pulse-repetition frequency of

10010-523: The southern of the three east coast sectors to be able to cover the southeast U.S. border. Additionally, the range was extended to 3,000 miles (4,800 km), crossing the equator. This was operated 40 hours a week at random times. Radar data were fed to the U.S. Customs/Coast Guard C3I Center, Miami; Joint Task Force 4 Operations Center, Key West; U.S. Southern Command Operations Center, Key West; and U.S. Southern Command Operations Center, Panama. Central Over-the-Horizon Backscatter Radar System While

10120-470: The stage B equipment followed by the establishment of No. 1 Radar Surveillance Unit RAAF (1RSU) and the handover of the radar to 1RSU. The aim was to provide the Australian Defence Force with operational experience of OHR. Phase 3 of the OTHR program was the design and construction of the JORN. The decision to build the JORN was announced in October 1986. Telstra , in association with GEC-Marconi , became

10230-518: The system to use phase-shift beamforming to steer the direction of sensitivity and adjust it to cover Singapore, Calcutta, and the UK. This system consumed 25 miles (40 km) of electrical cable in the antenna array. A more recent addition is the Jindalee Operational Radar Network developed by the Australian Department of Defence in 1998 and completed in 2000. It is operated by No. 1 Radar Surveillance Unit of

10340-419: The target as 2 km (1.2 mi) wide. To produce a 1-degree beam at the most common frequencies, an antenna 1.5 kilometres (0.93 miles) wide is required. Due to the physics of the refraction process, actual accuracy is even lower, with range resolution on the order of 20 to 40 kilometres (12–25 miles) and bearing accuracy of 2 to 4 kilometres (1.2–2.5 miles) being suggested. Even a 2 km accuracy

10450-497: The twentieth century, AWA was Australia's largest and most prominent electronics organisation, undertaking development, manufacture and distribution of radio, telecommunications , television and audio equipment as well as broadcasting services. After the sell-off of most of its assets and operating divisions, AWA is now primarily an information and communications technology (ICT) services company. The company commenced operations in 1909 as Australasian Wireless Limited (AWL) ,

10560-491: The two firms settled their differences and, on 11 July 1913, formed a new company, Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd , with exclusive rights throughout Australasia to the patents, 'present and future', of both Marconi and Telefunken. Later that year the new entity established the Marconi Telefunken College of Telegraphy, (later renamed the Marconi School of Wireless. The first radio broadcast from

10670-401: The use of bistatic techniques and computer processing can produce higher resolutions, and has been used beginning in the 1990s. Radar clutter can degrade the ability of OTH to detect targets. Such clutter can be caused by atmospheric phenomena such as disturbances in the ionosphere caused by geomagnetic storms or other space weather events. This phenomenon is especially apparent near

10780-513: The west coast facilities were downgraded to "cold storage" status, meaning that only minimal maintenance was performed by a caretaker. Research was begun into the feasibility of removing the facilities. After a period of public input and environmental studies, in July 2005 the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command published a "Final Environmental Assessment for Equipment Removal at Over-the-Horizon Backscatter Radar - West Coast Facilities". A final decision

10890-485: The western Soviet Union from its location in Suffolk . When system testing started in 1972, however, an unexpected source of noise rendered it largely unusable. The source of the noise was never identified and the site was abandoned in 1973. Other early UK/US systems from the same era include: The United States Air Force Rome Laboratory had the first complete success with their AN/FPS-118 OTH-B . A prototype with

11000-471: Was able to detect rocket launches 600 miles (970 km) away at Cape Canaveral , and nuclear explosions in Nevada at 1,700 miles (2,700 km). A greatly improved system, a testbed for an operational radar, was built in 1961 as MADRE ( Magnetic-Drum Radar Equipment ) at Chesapeake Bay . It detected aircraft as far as 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) using as little as 50 kW of broadcast energy. As

11110-428: Was accomplished. In the radar role, the creeping waves in question are diffracting around the Earth, although processing the returned signal is difficult. Development of such systems became practical in the late 1980s due to the rapidly increasing processing power available. Such systems are known as OTH-SW , for Surface Wave . The first OTH-SW system deployed appears to be a Soviet system positioned to watch traffic in

11220-584: Was also the Australian distributor for many audio equipment manufacturers, including Tannoy , Revox , AKG Acoustics and Clarion (car audio) . In 1984, Mitsubishi Electric purchased AWA-Thorn, (renaming it Mitsubishi Electric AWA), marketing their VCRs , stereos and TVs in Australia while retaining 'AWA' in the brand name. AWA moved into TV broadcasting again in 1980, purchasing the Nine Network TV station QTQ-9 in Brisbane, Queensland. In 1985, it

11330-595: Was divided into three stages. Stage 'A' commenced in April 1974. It involved the construction of a prototype radar receiver at Mount Everard, (near Alice Springs ), a transmitter (at Harts Range, 160 kilometres or 99 miles away) and a beacon in Derby . When completed (in October 1976) the Stage A radar ran for two years, closing in December 1978. Stage A formally ended in February 1979, having achieved its mission of proving

11440-404: Was eventually purchased fully by Corning to become Corning Noble Park, but closed in 2003. Also in 1984 AWA acquired Electrical Equipment Ltd, a major manufacturer of power transmission equipment. The AWA group had a combined staff of over 10,000. In 1987, AWA reported A$ 49 million in foreign exchange losses due to unauthorised trading in 1986 and 1987. Over the next decade, in what developed into

11550-448: Was less than forecast estimates, and in 1993 the station was sold to Wesgo Communications. AWA exited the industry in 1994, with the sale of Sydney station 2CH to John Singleton . In 2001, AWA was acquired by Jupiters. Shortly after Jupiters merged with Tabcorp , in 2004 the company was spun off, once again becoming an independent company. In 2006, AWA acquired Telefix Sales, which has been servicing home entertainment products since

11660-413: Was made to remove all radar equipment at the west coast sector's transmitter site at Christmas Valley Air Force Station outside Christmas Valley, Oregon and its receiver site near Tulelake, California . This work was completed by July 2007 with the demolition and removal of the antenna arrays, leaving the buildings, fences and utility infrastructure at each site intact. In 2018, development started on

11770-604: Was sold off to Quality Semiconductor Australia (now Silanna Semiconductor) in 1996. In 1979 the Marconi School of Wireless moved to Launceston, Tasmania to become part of the Australian Maritime College . Later that year, the last Australian-made AWA appliances were produced at the company's Sydney manufacturing plant in Ashfield. From the late 1970s, appliances such as TVs were being made for AWA-Thorn by Mitsubishi Electric of Japan. This division of AWA

11880-588: Was sold to Alan Bond , as Bond began to assemble his ownership of the Nine Network. Through research done at the AWA Research Laboratories, AWA was an early entrant into the design and development of optical fibre technology in Australia. In 1984, AWA, in partnership with Corning of the US and Metal Manufactures Limited , established Optical Waveguides Australia Pty Ltd (OWA). AWA later sold its interest in OWA, which

11990-673: Was sold to British Aerospace in 1996, before being sold again to Rockwell Collins to be absorbed within its Australian avionics maintenance operations. AWA continued to have major involvement in the Australian defence electronics industry. It worked closely with the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) in developing the electronics in the Ikara anti-submarine weapon, Nulka EW rocket drone, AN/SSQ-801A Barra sonobuoy (with Plessey as Sonobuoys Australia Pty Ltd), Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile ( ESSM ), Agile Gliding Bomb and ALR-2002 Radar Warning Receiver, as well as providing support to

12100-409: Was successfully used to track missile launches from the far east and Pacific Ocean to the testing ground on Novaya Zemlya . This was followed by the first operational system Duga-1 , known in the west as Steel Yard , which first broadcast in 1976. Built outside Gomel, near Chernobyl , it was aimed northward and covered the continental United States. Its loud and repetitive pulses in the middle of

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