The NATO Integrated Air Defense System is a command and control network combining radars and other facilities spread throughout the NATO alliance's air defence forces. It formed in the mid-1950s and became operational in 1962 as NADGE. It has been constantly upgraded since its formation, notably with the integration of Airborne Early Warning aircraft in the 1970s. The United Kingdom maintained its own network, but was fully integrated with the network since the introduction of the Linesman/Mediator network in the 1970s. Similarly, the German network maintained an independent nature through GEADGE.
ROTOR was an elaborate air defence radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet bombers. To get it operational as quickly as possible, it was initially made up primarily of WWII-era systems, notably the original Chain Home radars for the early warning role, and the AMES Type 7 for plotting and interception control. Data from these stations was sent to a network of control stations, mostly built underground, using an extensive telephone and telex network.
Royal Air Force Boulmer or more simply RAF Boulmer is a Royal Air Force station near Alnwick in Northumberland, England, and is home to Aerospace Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) Force Command, Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) Boulmer.
Remote Radar Head Benbecula or RRH Benbecula, is an air defence radar station operated by the Royal Air Force. It is located at Cleitreabhal a'Deas, 17 kilometres (11 mi) from Lochmaddy on the isle of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Remote Radar Head Saxa Vord or RRH Saxa Vord, is a Royal Air Force radar station located on the island of Unst, the most northern of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. As of July 2019 it is once more a fully operational radar station, after closure in 2006. The station's motto Praemoneo de Periculis reflects its role. RAF Saxa Vord is further north than Saint Petersburg in Russia, and on the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska. The station was named after Saxa Vord, which is the highest hill on Unst at 935 ft (285 m). It holds the unofficial British record for wind speed, which in 1992 was recorded at 197 mph (317 km/h) — just before the measuring equipment blew away.
Remote Radar Head Neatishead, and commonly abbreviated RRH Neatishead, is an air defence radar site operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It is located approximately 11 kilometres north-east of Norwich in the county of Norfolk, England.
RemoteRadarHeadStaxton Wold or RRH Staxton Wold is an air defence radar station operated by the Royal Air Force, located near Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. As it has been a radar site continuously since 1939, it has a claim to be the oldest working radar station in the world.
Linesman/Mediator was a dual-purpose civil and military radar network in the United Kingdom between the 1960s and 1984. The military side (Linesman) was replaced by the Improved United Kingdom Air Defence Ground Environment (IUKADGE), while the civilian side (Mediator) became the modern public-private National Air Traffic Services (NATS).
Remote Radar Head Portreath or RRH Portreath is an air defence radar station operated by the Royal Air Force. It has a coastal location at Nancekuke Common, approximately 1.25 kilometres (0.78 mi) north east of the village of Portreath in Cornwall, England.
Remote Radar Head Trimingham or RRH Trimingham is a former TPS-77 radar station situated on the coast in the English county of Norfolk. The site is located on the coast road between Cromer and Mundesley, 1 kilometre east of the village of Trimingham but the activity has now moved to RRH Neatishead due to the threat from coastal erosion. The radar station was a satellite station of RAF Neatishead. This radar station was controlled and maintained by a section of Radar Technicians and Operators and supported by a team of Ground Engineers. Trimingham provided extensive coverage of the East coast of the United Kingdom and helped contribute to the recognised air picture and defence of the United Kingdom. The type 93 became operational on the site in April 1997.
Remote Radar Head Buchan or RRH Buchan is an air defence radar station operated by the Royal Air Force. It is located at Stirling Hill, 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) south of Peterhead on the Aberdeenshire coast of North East Scotland.
RAF Weybourne was a Second World War anti-aircraft establishment. 'X' Flt, No 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit were based at the station between 16 May and 14 September 1939, with 'T' Flt, No 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit there between 25 February and 29 April 1942. No 6 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit were based there between 7 December 1942 and 30 November 1943.
Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) is state of readiness and modus operandi of air defence maintained at all hours of the day by NATO air forces. The United States usually refers to Quick Reaction Alert as 'Airspace Control Alert'.
Royal Air Force Aird Uig was a Royal Air Force radar station located on the western edge of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The main masts and operations room were located north of the village of Aird Uig on Gallan Head, with a separate domestic site nearer to the village, five-eighths mile further south.
The AMES Type 80, sometimes known by its development rainbow code Green Garlic, was a powerful early warning (EW) and ground-controlled interception (GCI) radar developed by the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) and built by Decca for the Royal Air Force (RAF). It could reliably detect a large fighter or small bomber at ranges over 210 nautical miles, and large, high-flying aircraft were seen out to the radar horizon. It was the primary military ground-based radar in the UK from the mid-1950s into the late 1960s, providing coverage over the entire British Isles.
No. 1 Air Control Centre is a deployable mobile command and control unit of the Royal Air Force that is currently based at RAF Boulmer in Northumberland. The unit acts in conjunction with the Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) also at RAF Boulmer, but also detaches staff to overseas locations when the Royal Air Force is engaged in operations. Some of these postings are permanent, such as in the Falklands Islands and at Cyprus.
The AMES Type 84, also known as the Microwave Early Warning or MEW, was a 23 cm wavelength early warning radar used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as part of the Linesman/Mediator radar network. Operating in the L-band gave it improved performance in rain and hail, where the primary AMES Type 85 radar's performance dropped off. It operated beside the Type 85 and RX12874 in Linesman, and moved to the UKADGE system in the 1980s before being replaced during UKADGE upgrades in the early 1990s.
The Improved United Kingdom Air Defence Ground Environment, normally shortened to either UKADGE or IUKADGE, was the Royal Air Force's (RAF) ground-controlled interception system covering the British Isles during the 1990s. It consisted of a number of ground-based radar sites, links to airborne early warning aircraft and Royal Navy ships, a telecommunications system to send digital data and voice communications on a protected network, and processing systems based on VAX-11/780 computers. The network ultimately contained a dozen long-range radars including four Marconi Martello, two General Electric TPS-592, and six Plessey AR-320.
Remote Radar Head Brizlee Wood, is an air defence radar station operated by the Royal Air Force located at Brizlee Wood, near Alnwick in Northumberland, England. Originally opened as an Ace High site in the early 1960s, it now forms part of the Air Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) of the Royal Air Force.
