Here is the
Fact Sheet for Jindalee.
The Laverton site could have picked up MH370 if it went south. JORN may not have been switched on however.
What is JORN?
• The Australian Defence Force (ADF) currently operates three OTHR systems as part of the
Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN). These radars are dispersed across Australia — at
Longreach in Queensland, Laverton in Western Australia and Alice Springs in the Northern
Territory — to provide surveillance coverage of Australia’s northern approaches.
• Radar data from these sensors is conveyed to the JORN Coordination Centre (JCC) within the Air
Force’s No 1 Radar Surveillance Unit (1RSU) at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia. 1RSU
is tasked by higher headquarters to operate the JORN capability on a daily basis.
• JORN does not operate on a 24 hour basis except during military contingencies. Defence’s
peacetime use of JORN focuses on those objects that the system has been designed to detect,
thus ensuring efficient use of resources.
• The JORN radars have an operating range of 1000–3000km, as measured from the radar array.
Figure 2 depicts the locations of the three OTHR systems and the JCC, and highlights the
coverage of each radar. Of note, the Alice Springs and Longreach radars cover an arc of 90
degrees each, whereas the Laverton OTHR coverage area extends through 180 degrees