Radome

Radar antennas on USS Theodore Roosevelt SPS-64 — A picture of an AN/SPS-46(V)9 radar antenna on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier. This is an X-band (8-12 GHz) marine navigational radar similar to types on civilian ships, used to detect other ships in the vicinity. It has a peak power of 7 kW, a range of somewhere around 35 nautical miles. This type of antenna is called a slot antenna and radiates a narrow vertical fan-shaped beam of microwaves, about 15° high and 2.2° wide. A motor in the housing below rotates the bar-shaped antenna to scan the beam around the horizon.

The idea[]

A radome (which is a portmanteau of radar and dome). Radar dishes/rods and radio masts/aerials were once routinely exposed to the elements, but it was soon found out that both sabotage, war and nature quickly damages the sensitive parts and so they needed to be covered up. It also keeps spies who use visual observations away and stops the revolving antenna/dish/rod hitting passing people.

The device it's self[]

The "radome" is constructed of material that minimally attenuates the electromagnetic signal transmitted or received by the antenna. In other words, the radome is transparent to radar, micro or radio waves. They are strong, opaque, weather proof and mostly accident proof shells.

A "rotodome" stays attached to the radar antenna and spins round with it, as with it the highly efficient rotodome antenna is mounted on top of the carrier based E-2C Hawkeye radar surveillance aircraft.

The white or grey radome style buildings at places like those once at RAF Fylingdales were informally called 'Golf Balls'. Smaller radomes occur on aircraft, anti-aircraft installations, eaves dropping intelligence gathering facilities, airports, trucks and ships. It is the smaller type that are the truer definition of what is a radome's domes is.