Marconi S259 - R.A.F. Bishops Court,
Northern Ireland, 1985 (photo: John Dell)

Marconi S259 - Falkland Islands,
South Atlantic (photo: John Dell)

Radar Type S259 (from JSP 6)
 

Frequency

: 1250 - 1350 Mhz

Wave length

: L-band

Aerial rotation

: 15 r.p.m.

Air transportable

: Yes

Aerial

: Parabolic slatted reflector

Vertical beam width

: 10^o

Horizontal beam width

: 3.8^o

Peak power

: 2000 kW

PRF

: 250

Pulse length

: 5.0 uS

RX amplifier

: Parametric Log + Lin

Range accuracy

: ±1 nm

Range resolution

: 1 nm

Bearing accuracy

: 1^o

Bearing resolution

: 3.8^o

Height accuracy

: N/A

Range on "Canberra" at 20,000 feet

: 120 nm at 3^o aerial tilt (theoretical)

Range on "Canberra" at 40,000 feet

: 128 nm at 3^o aerial tilt (theoretical)

 1. Class of Equipment. The S259 is a ruggedly constructed air transportable D-band radar with no height finding capability.

2. Purpose of Equipment. To provide:
a. Early warning during early stages of an emergency.
b. Extension of early warning cover by forward deployment.
c. Standby facilities for a primary radar.

3. Frequency. D-band, 23 cm, tunable in the range 1,250 to 1,380 MHz.

4. Coverage.
a. Azimuth. 0^o to 360^o using continuous rotation.
b. Elevation. 0^o to +10^o, variable by tilting the aerial between the limits of -2^o to +5^o relative to the horizontal.

5. Aerial Characteristics.
a. Polarization. Horizontal.
b. Beam widths. 3 .8^o horizontal, 10^o vertical.
c. Side Lobes. 26 dB horizontal, 20 dB vertical.

6. Aerial Reflector. 16 ft by 4 ft 9 in, parabolic in vertical section.

7. Aerial Feed. Horn wave guide.

8. Scanning Rate. 0 - 15 rev/min: 4 - 6 rev/mm normally selected for air defence use.

9. Transmitter.
a. Pulse Width. 5 uS
b. PRF. 285.5 - 291 pps dependent upon frequency.
c. Peak Power. 2 MW.

10. Receiver. Three processed receiver outputs:
a. MTI (Moving Target Indication).
b. Log/PLD.
c. Fully Processed Receiver band width 500 KHz.

11. Display. Two 12 in PPI displays.

12. IFF. AN-TPX 47 interrogator (transmitter cabin) IFF Decoder 7117 (Display Cabin):
a. Frequency. 1,030 MHz (Transmission), 1,090 MHz (Reception).
b. Bandwidth. 8 MHz.
c. Power. 1-2 kW. 

Marconi S259 - Sunset in the Falkland Islands,
South Atlantic, 1983 (photo: John Dell)  

Marconi S259 - R.A.F. Boulmer, Northumberland,
England, 1979 (photo: Dick Barrettl)

Marconi S259 - R.A.F. Buchan, Scotland, 1981 (photo: John Dell) 

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