FPS-10

FPS-10 long range Combo Radar Set - A long-range Combo Radar set (search + height-finder) manufactured by the General Electric Company. Two separate antennas, one for early warning (EW) detection and the other slanted 45 degrees to provide target height (HF). The HF radar used five transmitters that operated at S-band frequencies ranging from 2700 to 3019 MHz to detect target altitude. Variants included the CPS-6, CPS-6A, and the CPS-6B. This set is a stripped down version of the CPS-6B variant using identical components. CPS-6B/FPS-10 Combination Search and Height Finder Radar Facility. Adapted From MIL-HDBK-162A: Radar Set FPS-10 is a fixed-station, air transportable, high-power, long-range search and height-finding radar that is used for aircraft early warning and GCI applications. This radar set has a maximum range of 265 naut mi and a height-finding capability of 40,000 ft. Facilities are provided for use of advanced filter techniques that eliminate the time lag inherent in passing plots through a filter room. The FPS-10 has provisions for optional use of video mapping, direction finding, and identification equipment. Terminal facilities are also provided for voice, code or teletype, and radio or wire communications. This radar set is equipped with moving target indication and many remote operating facilities. Radar Set FPS-10 is similar to Radar Set CPS-6B, differing only in the number of indicators used in the absence of B-scan indicators, and in the telephone system. The CPS-6B has more indicators, and its telephone system is supplied as part of the equipment. Deployment As the Korean War escalated and tensions rose between the U.S., China, and Russia in the early 1950s, the U.S. Air Force began to replace the Lashup Radar System with a more permanent radar network. The available FPS-10s were deployed to at least thirteen CONUS locations as a part of this Permanent System. The CPS-6Bs and FPS-10s were said to have been deployed in pairs, two on a single site (Winkler and Radomes below). The majority of these sites became operational in 1952 with Blaine Air Force Station recorded as the first one operational on 14 Mar 1951. Some FPS-10s remained operational into the 1960s. Note: Other historical records indicate that what was construed as a second CPS-6B or FPS-10 may have been a modification to the CPS-6B and the FPS-10 that provided "an auxiliary early warning search set, to the production model of the 6B, which would work independently of the other components. This modification involved the addition of a third antenna solely concerned with early warning transmission, the other two antennas being concerned with solid search and height-finding." This makes much more sense than deploying two CPS-6Bs or FPS-10s to each site and it is the only way that the numbers procured match the numbers deployed. FPS-10 Deployments (edit list) ID Location State Number Unit Operational Replaced Notes P-46 Blaine WA 2 757th 1952-01 P-59 Boron CA 2 750th 1952-02 L-40 P-78 Duncanville TX 2 745th 1952-?? P-47 Hutchinson KS 2 793rd 1952-05 P-64 Kirksville MO 2 790th 1952-04 P-42 Lake City TN 2 633rd 1952-06 L-47 P-52 Oklahoma City OK 2 746th 1952-05 P-83 Waverly IA 2 788th 1952-?? P-80 Caswell AFB ME 2 766th 1952-?? L-50 P-15 Santa Rosa Island CA 2 669th 1952-?? L-41,42 P-79 Ellington AFB TX 2 747th 1952-04 P-53 Rockville IN 2 782nd 1952-05 P-77 Bartlesville OK 2 796th 1952-05 FPS-10 Radar FPS-10 Combo Radar Element Value Notes Nomenclature FPS-10 Origins CPS-6B Variants Manufacturer General Electric Company Type Combo Number Made 14+ CPS-6B 26+ FPS-10 IEEE Band S Frequency 2700 to 3019 mc 6 freq bands PRF 600 or 300 pps Pulse Width 1us at 600 pps 1 or 2 us at 300 pps EW Tx 2 us Rotation Speed 2 to 15 rpm Continuously variable Range Height Finder - 120 nmi EW (V-beam) - 150 nmi EW (S-beam) - 240 nmi Long range B-17 or B-29 Type Target Accuracy Range - 0.87 mi EW Channel - 0.5 mi Azimuth - 1 deg EW Channel - 0.5 deg Elevation - plus or minus 500 ft (relative; plus or minus 1000 ft absolute Altitude 40,000 ft altitude 0 to 24 deg angular Power 120-208v ac, 60 cps, 3-ph, 4-wire, 100 kw Introduced 1950 (CPS-6B) CPS-6B/FPS-10 Radar Set FPS-10 Components (edit list) Component Model Quantity Height Width Deep Weight Notes Antenna Assembly AS-451/CPS-6B 1 684 720 Includes Arctic Tower and Building Radar Set Group OA-345/CPS-6B 1 60 51.5 31 Receiver-Transmitter Group OA-126/CPS-6B 2 59 45 24 Receiver-Transmitter Group OA-127/CPS-6B 2 59 45 24 Receiver Transmitter Group OA-128/CPS-6B 1 59 45 24 Radar Modulator MD-98/CPS-6B 1 43 34 34 824 Radar Modulator MD-99/CPS-6B 1 43 34 34 710 Relay Assembly RE-76/CPS-6B 1 60 36 12 Motor Generator PU-178/CPS-6B 1 19 24 54 Motor Generator PU-179/CPS-6B 1 14.35 13.35 25.35 Control Power Supply Group OA-103/CPS-6B 1 72 24 24 377 Power Supply PP-415/CPS-6B 1 30 29 40 Indicator Group OA-98/CPS-6B 2 42 21 43 500 Indicator Group OA-99/CPS-6B 7 42 21 43 Indicator Group OA-100/CPS-6B 1 42 21 43 362 Blanker-Indicator Group OA-101/CPS-6B 1 72 24 24 352 Antenna Control Group OA-110/CPS-6B 1 42 40 30 Calibrator Generator Group OA-96/CPS- 6B 1 72 24 24 219 Mixer-Blanker MX-918/CPS-6B 1 72 24 24 259 Moving Target Indicator Group OA-121/CPS-6B 1 72 24 24 Power Supply PP-415/CPS-6B 1 27 24 24 Power Control Group OA-122/CPS-6B 1 72 24 24 Plotting Board PT-105/CPS-6B 2 114 46 108 Plotting Table PT-104/CPS-6B 2 38 36.5 34 Radome Pressure Control Unit 1 Diesel Power Unit (GFE) 3 See Also: US Radar Sets CPS-6B Sources: Winkler, David F., Searching the Skies: the Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, USAF Hq Air Combat Command, 1997, 192 pages, Pdf, page 75-76 (CPS-6B), page 77 (FPS-10). The Air Defense of the United States, a study of the work of Air Defense Command: and its predecessors through June 1951, Directorate of Historical Services, Air Defense Command, Feb 52, Classified Secret now Declassified, page 105. MIL-HDBK-162A, 15 Dec 1965. Links: Bad Links /museum/equip.php Radar Equipment]