'Remote' RAF radar station in S.E. England?
 

The RAF website shows a Chinook lifting a mobile radar to a 'remote' hilltop for the Olympics. Nice cushty posting? :cool:
Olympic Weight Lifting Champion
mmitch.

<<The kit will be used to give the RAF’s air traffic controllers a complete picture of all low level aircraft movements on the London approaches.>>

I wonder why?

God help any student pilot that gets lost:eek:

So the nation doesn't normally have this capability and now it's justified due to an overblown, over-priced school sports day ?

olympic Radar
 

Good to see that there are others out there that do not worship at the alter of the olympics.

If you apply the two most commonly offered dictionary definitions:

situated a long way away;
far away from civilization, society, or any other populated area

it is hard to visualise where such a hilltop is situated in the south east of the country that would facilitate adequate radar coverage of the approaches to any London airport.

Mister B

As the CAA mentioned in a November 2011 press release:

RAF must be flush with controllers, so where are they all coming from?

I guess most of the MOB ATC towers will be running a couple of people light this summer.

From what I hear LARS units mainly. Expect limited LARS coverage in the rest of the country.

Temporary reactivation of RAF Ash, a former radar site?

Well, at least it should have good comms links.

Kenley would be a more sensible location although I don't think you would have to rely upon a CH47 to drop a radar there. I presume we're talking about a mobile Watchman (do they still have them?). I can't see a 101 fitting the bill.

"Don't tell 'em your name, Pike"

Funny old world. That was truly a guess although I do recollect a similar discussion a little over a decade back. At the time the ASACS guys quickly figured that they didn't have great low-level coverage in the area. The partial solution involved a military ATC radar and a modem.

When was the last time the MOD reactivated anything? It seems once the lights go out, that's it. Care and Maintenance my ar$e.

Amazing. Last time I peeped into London Mil there were about two blokes there! OK, it was 10 years ago, but.....

Remore Radar
 

One might ask why Air Traffic Controller's of whom it was once said, by a 2 star "I have finally found the only Branch in the RAF whose utility is directly linked to their postcode!:E What will they do - give potential terrorists vectors to the target site?!:suspect:

Wherever it gets sited, the "Midland Radar overhead" scenario will still be applicable.
:E

That's the thing about the internet these days. If you take a few minutes to search for the answers they are usually there

Olympics Air Security

RAF Scampton - 1 Air Control Centre

:rolleyes: