air to air radar question
Just curious about the operation of air defence radar on interceptor types (F3) or fighters (Sea Harrier etc). How did the operator find and then track a target, and how was this presented to the pilot/wso?
I am very familiar with using ship-borne radar - but this in only 2D albeit in 360 degree around the ship. Also I am familiar with aircraft weather radar which has a basic 3D capability in that it scans an arc ahead of the aircraft and can be scanned up and down by a few degrees. But where does air defence radar fall between these two examples? Did the pilot/wso rely mostly on the ground based fighter controller for an approximate bearing/elevation/range to a target, then use the onboard radar only for close range refinement? Or was the system more powerful and autonomous?
And did the radar also serve as weather radar, or was the wavelength too long to be useful for this purpose?