A system used to determine the speed, altitude range, and heading of an aircraft is called?

A system used to determine the speed, altitude range, and heading of an aircraft is called?

• A. RADAR
• B. RADIO TELECOMMUNICATION
• C. GPS
• D. AUTOPILOT

Answer: (A)

Radar uses radio waves to detect objects and measure their motion. By sending out pulses and timing the echoes, it works out how far away an aircraft is (range) and, from the antenna direction, in which direction the aircraft lies (bearing), which translates into the aircraft’s heading relative to the radar site. Doppler shifts in the returned signal also let you estimate the target’s speed. That combination of range, bearing (heading), and speed is exactly what radar provides when tracking other aircraft or objects. Radio telecommunication is just the transmission of voice or data, not a measurement system. GPS can give speed, altitude, and heading, but it isn’t described here as providing the range to an external target in the same sense radar does, and autopilot is a flight-control system, not a measurement system.

Radar uses radio waves to detect objects and measure their motion. By sending out pulses and timing the echoes, it works out how far away an aircraft is (range) and, from the antenna direction, in which direction the aircraft lies (bearing), which translates into the aircraft’s heading relative to the radar site. Doppler shifts in the returned signal also let you estimate the target’s speed. That combination of range, bearing (heading), and speed is exactly what radar provides when tracking other aircraft or objects.

Radio telecommunication is just the transmission of voice or data, not a measurement system. GPS can give speed, altitude, and heading, but it isn’t described here as providing the range to an external target in the same sense radar does, and autopilot is a flight-control system, not a measurement system.