Sup PrepHole.
I have been watching and reading stuff about radars and radar illumination of incoming aircraft.
From what I learned, radars need to be switched on and off for very limited time windows in order to not be picked up by anti-radiation missiles.
Then I remembered road-rail vehicles, which can both move on roads, and attach on rails. Given the ease of laying short tracks by track layers, here is my possibly retarded question.
HAARM missiles can remember the position of the signal and home in on it even though the radar has turned off.
But what stops the radar from having the capability of moving back and forth on a short track, illuminating from different points, with each point pre-calculated for the computers?
The Michelangelo-tier picture shows what I mean - the radar turns on, illuminates the sky, then proceeds to move some few hundred meters, changes frequency, and tries again some time after, thus allowing for longer sweeping times without the imminent danger of HAARMs. Why would such a system not work on pre-established radar sites or possible relocation sites?
I know the question might be really stupid, but it just got me thinking, and I could not find a reason why it would not work. I figured PrepHole might shed some light on this, as here weapons-grade autism has a whole new level of meaning.
What do the tracks solve that wheels do not? They make the radar less mobile and more detectable.
I thought so, too. Until I realized the main challenge of packing up the radar is the awkward center of gravity and the uneven terrain, so every unexpected bump could topple the vehicle over. Tracks are horizontal, naturally flat and predictable. No risk of the radar falling, thus it could move without packing up, just driving with its wide rail-wheels setup almost instantly.
It solves that problem but laying a track for radar says to the enemy "bomb here." It's almost certainly cheaper and safer just to have multiple trucks you can turn on and off and scoot around.
This is my point, the tracks are long, you can't easily aim at all of them as it would bring you within the radar range in the first place, the surveillance can easily see where the immobile radar is set up and put a glide bomb up the crew's asses in time shorter than antidepressants TV ad. Those pieces of tech are very expensive, and are the heart of every AA system, having many radars is simply not feasible from that point of view, usually a site has one. Some sites have even double the launchers with a single radar servicing all, like the Patriots and S-400. I threw this idea around with the point of saving the radar so that the site can continue operations even after a HAARM strike, and to be able to put out radar scans longer than 15-30 sec (which is the max one can operate unless they want the said HAARM to find them), thus achieving more consistent lock.
Train tracks are expensive and time consuming to lay. I just don't think your plan is feasible.
You might be correct, was just throwing the idea as it's niggling on my mind.
The problem is that it's not just anti-radiation missiles that an AA unit needs to worry about, while they might not immediately figure out that the radar is on a track, it's going to have all sorts of fun shit flying it's way once they do, and building rail specifically for it will just get the whole thing missile spammed before the planes are anywhere near. I could see it maybe working once as a cheeky little gag but you could probably just pop the thing on a train car and accomplish basically the same thing without having to design anything fancy.
>Until I realized the main challenge of packing up the radar is the awkward center of gravity and the uneven terrain, so every unexpected bump could topple the vehicle over.
you are a fucking retard
Because your opponent would just switch from a unitary warhead that destroys the radar to cluster munitions that saturate the area the signal was coming from, at minimum destroying the tracks (could even used timed, or something more advanced fuses to increase the odds of a kill)
HAARMs are small air-launched missiles, not rocket artillery. They don't do pic related.
My point is: In the time it takes you to construct the tracks, figure out the best way to move a radar around, change frequencies, etc. etc. etc. the guidance system for an anti radiation missile could be retrofitted to a cluster munition.
The idea was this to be on fixed sites in the first place. 200+m long tracks and a Thomas the fire control engine moving around them, not 50m range.
My idea might just be retarded, as I originally said, had to share it, though. Otherwise it would have kept my autism awake.
>fixed sites
Then your expensive radars get chewed up by JDAMs and cruise missiles
Many defense sites are fixed around strategic objects..
200 m would be a bit short on a fixed site
if you are going to be laying track commit to at least a few km of them. And at that point being road mobile isn't really a good idea, just keep it moving on it's own track system on the fixed site and have carries that can haul them or connect the sites via civilian rail lines
the main issue would be the extra logistical burden of hauling around the track you'd need.
it would also limit your site to an open, level ect enough area to use the track system
you could also only do it at a site for a limited amount of time and you'd warp your tracks as well because using simple laid out track without preparing a substrate and getting everything level will fuck with the ground, the track and the vehicle
You would still need several teams to lay out the track in advance.
The best use I can think of is to simply quickly move the radar from it's on position a few hundred meters so you can get it road mobile again without being in the splash zone of an incoming counter.
That is until the enemy figures it out and changes the guidance package to also use video, heat ect
Gotta admit, Midjourney's schizo take on this idea is impressive.
>Laying out train tracks by hand a short distance
>When you could just have an infinite track
Yeah very mobile radars already exist - aircraft radars. And anti-radar homing missiles to deal with them exist too
>Just turn off the radar
Then you have been effectively suppressed
>just move and turn it on again
Say hello to mid course retargeting
>tracks
So anywhere the warhead hits will damage the track and significantly limit the mobility of the vehicle
>tracks will still be usable
Not after meeting 60kg of explosives it won't
The latest HARM gen already has millimeter wave radar on board to scan the SAM site and slam into the hardware, expect a future development to have a camera and computer vision to pick the priority target (radar or command vehicle).
The radar on track would give the rough location estimate to send the ARM on its way, terminal would be figured out by on-board sensors.
Besides the whole point of going full bank on missile guidance is to strike dynamic targets in complex environment.
If it was a static radar site you'd just get few bearings and delete that grid square.
They could but the radar is still blind for a moment while the radar relocates. That's considered a win for the attacker.