ATCBI-6

ATCBI-6 Long-Range Beacon Radar Set - A Long-Range Air Traffic Control Beacon Interrogator Model 6 (ATCBI-6) radar set built by the Raytheon Company. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) selected the Raytheon Company's ATCBI-6 beacon system on 4 Aug 1998 to replace the aging ATCBI-3, ATCBI-4, and ATCBI-5 beacon sets in the en route Air Traffic Control System. The FAA awarded a contract potentially worth US$180 million to manufacture and install up to 152 ATCBI-6 systems. DT&E was completed in September 1999, and OT&E began in October 1999. Key site commissioning took place in April 2000. In August 2002, the FAA commissioned into service the first production ATCBI-6 system at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. Operation The ATCBI-6 Beacon, with Mode S selective addressing capability, obtains information from en route aircraft, including identification, altitude, airspeed, and direction. The ATCBI-6 system integrates with existing primary surveillance radars (ARSR-4, CARSR, and FPS-117) operated by the FAA and the Department of Defense (DoD). The ATCBI-6 provides four commonly used modes, mode 1, mode 2, mode 3/A, and mode C. Mode 1 is used to ID military targets. Mode 2 is used to identify military aircraft missions. Mode 3/A is used to identify each aircraft in the radar's coverage area. Mode C is used to report an aircraft's altitude. Mode 3/A is designated as the common military/civil mode for air traffic control use. Mode 4 and mode S, are not considered part of the ATCRBS system, but they use the same transmit and receive hardware. Mode 4 is used by military aircraft for the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system. Mode S is a discrete selective interrogation that ignores interrogations not addressed with a unique identity code. ATCBI-6 Beacon Radar ATCBI-6 Beacon Radar Element Value Notes Nomenclature ATCBI-6 Origins ATCBI-3 ATCBI-4 ATCBI-5 Variants ATCBI-6M Manufacturer Raytheon Type Beacon Number Made 152~ Target Capacity 1,400 IEEE Band L-Band Frequency 1,030 & 1,090 MH PRF Pulse Width Rotation Speed Power Range 225 mi (362 km) Long-Range Altitude Introduced First production Model Commissioned August 2002 at Tinker AFB See Also: US Radar Sets Sources: Links: Forecast International - ATCBI-6 (2005)