Jindalee Operational Radar Network

The Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) is an over-the-horizon radar network that can monitor air and sea movements across 37,000km². It has an official range of 3,000 km but depending upon certain atmospheric conditions has a range up to and including the Korean peninsula. It is used in the defence of Australia and can also monitor maritime operations, wave heights and wind directions. Up to now, the network has cost approximately $A1.8 billion.

History

The roots of the JORN can be traced back to post World War II experiments in the United States and a series of Australian experiments beginning in the early 1950s. From July 1970 a study was undertaken, resulting in a proposal for a program, to be carried out in three phases, to develop an over-the-horizon-radar system. [http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/page/3984/ The Development of Over-the-Horizon Radar in Australia] - paper by D.H. Sinnott on the Australian Department of Defence website] .

The first phase was designated project Geebung. Geebung aimed to define operationalrequirements for an OTHR and study applicable technologies and techniques. The project carried outa series of ionospheric soundings, evaluating the suitability of the ionosphere for the operationof an OTHR radar.

Geebung was the foundation for Project Jindalee, the second phase, aimed at proving thefeasibility and costing of OTHR. This second phase was to be carried out by Radar Division, which later become the High Frequency Radar Division within the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

Project Jindalee came into being during the period 1972-1974 and was divided into three stages.

Stage 'A' commenced in April 1974. It involved the construction of a prototype radarreceiver at Mount Everard, near Alice Springs, a transmitter at Harts Range, 160km away and a beacon in Derby.Once completed in October 1976 the Stage A radar ran for two years, closing in December 1978.Stage A formally ended in February 1979 having achieved its mission of proving the feasibility of OTHR.

The success of stage A resulted in the construction of a larger stage 'B' radar, drawingon the knowledge gained from stage A. Stage B commenced on 6 July 1978. The new radarwas constructed next to the stage A radar. Developments during stage B included real time signal processing, using custom built processors, larger antenna arrays and higherpower transmitters, resulting in a more sensitive and capable radar. The first data wasreceived by stage B in the period April to May 1982. The first ship was detected in January 1983and an aircraft automatically tracked in February 1984. Trials were carried out with the Royal Australian Air Forceduring April 1984, substantially fulfilling the mission of stage B, to demonstrate an OTHR operatingin Australia. Another two years of trials were carried out before the Jindalee project officiallyfinished in December 1985.

Stage 'C' became the conversion of the stage B radar to an operational radar. This stage sawsubstantial upgrades to the stage B equipment followed by the establishment of No. 1 Radar Surveillance Unit RAAF (1RSU) and the handover of the radar to 1RSU. The aim was to provide Australia's defence forces withoperational experience of OTHR.cite conference|first=Samuel B.(Bren)|last=Colegrove|title=Project Jindalee: From Bare Bones To Operational OTHR|booktitle=IEEE International Radar Conference - Proceedings|pages=825-830|publisher=IEEE|date=2000|url=http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/6874/18502/00851942.pdf|accessdate=2006-11-17]

The third phase of the OTHR program was the design and construction of the JORN. The decision to build the JORN was announced in October 1986. Telstra, in association with GEC-Marconi, became the prime contractor and a fixed price contract for the construction of the JORN was signed on 11th June 1991. The JORN was to be completed by 13th June 1997.

By 1996 the project was experiencing technical difficulties and cost overruns [cite web|first=Ray|last=McNally|title=Jindalee Operational Radar Network: Department of Defence|work=The Auditor-General Performance Audit Audit Report No.28 1995-96|publisher=Australian National Audit Office|date=1996-08-18|url=http://www.anao.gov.au/WebSite.nsf/Publications/4A256AE90015F69B4A25690A002479D2/$file/rpt28-96.pdf|accessdate=2006-11-17] . Telstra reported an $A609 million loss and announced that it could not guarantee a delivery date.cite web|url=http://defence-data.com/features/fpage37.htm|title=JORN assures early warning for Australia|accessdate=2006-11-15|last=Sinclair-Jones|first=Michael|date=2000-02-29|work=Defence Systems Daily|publisher=Defence Data Ltd.]

The failed Telstra contract prompted the project to enter a fourth phase: completion of the JORN and its subsequent maintenance using a new contractor. In February 1997 Lockheed Martin and Tenix received a contract to deliver and manage the JORN. Subsequently during June 1997 Lockheed and Tenix formed the company RLM Group to handle the joint venture [http://www.rlmgroup.com.au RLM Group web site] ] . An operational radar system was delivered in April 2003, with maintenance contracted to continue until February 2007cite web|url=http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/esd/jp2025/jp2025.cfm|title=Projects: JP 2025 - Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN)|accessdate=2006-11-15|last=Thurston|first=Robin|date=2006-06-21|work=Defence Materiel Organisation Website|publisher=Department of Defence] .

As a consequence of the duration of its construction the JORN delivered in 2003 was designed to a specification developed in the early 1990s. During this period the Alice Springs radar had evolved significantly under the guidance of the DSTO. In February 2004 a fifth phase of the JORN project was approved. This current phase aims to upgrade the Laverton and Longreach Radars to reflect over a decade of OTHR research and development. Phase five is scheduled to run until approximately the year 2010.

Network

The JORN consists of two active radar stations; one near Longreach, Queensland (JOR1) and a second near Laverton, Western Australia (JOR2), a control centre in Edinburgh, South Australia (JCC), seven transponders and twelve vertical ionosondes distributed around Australia and its territories. DSTO uses a radar station near Alice Springs, Northern Territory (JFAS) for research and developmentcite journal|last=Wise|first=John C.|title=Summary of recent Australian radar developments|journal=IEEE A&E Systems Magazine|issue=Dec 04|pages=8–10|publisher=IEEE|date=2004-12|url=http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/62/30020/01374061.pdf|accessdate=2006-11-29] and also has its own network of vertical/oblique ionosondes for research purposes.cite web|url=http://ulcar.uml.edu/slist.htm|title=Digisonde Station List|accessyear=2006-11-29|year=2004|month=Feb|publisher=University of Massachusetts Lowell, Center for Atmospheric Research] cite conference|first=R.S.|last=Gardiner-Garden|title=Ionospheric variability in sounding data from JORN|booktitle=Workshop on the Applications of Radio Science (WARS)|date=2006-02|location=Leura, NSW|url =http://www.ips.gov.au/IPSHosted/NCRS/wars/wars2006/proceedings/poster/gardiner_garden_p.ppt|accessdate=2006-11-29] The Alice Springs radar can be patched into the JORN to provide a third active radar station.

Each radar station consists of a transmitter site and a receiver site, separated by a large distance to prevent the transmitter from interfering with the receiver. The four JORN transmitter and receiver sites are:

* the Queensland transmitter at Longreach, cite journal|last=Hill|first=Senator Robert|title=Defence: Properties (Question No. 2685)|journal=Senate Official Hansard|volume=No 6, 2004|issue=Fortieth Parliament, First Session-Eighth Period|pages=23144|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|date=2004-05-12|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/dailys/ds120504.pdf|accessdate=2006-11-28] , with ninety degree coverage (coord|23.658047|S|144.145432|E|region:AU_scale:25000),
* the Queensland receiver at Stonehenge, with ninety degree coverage (coord|24.291095|S|143.195286|E|region:AU_scale:25000),
* the Western Australian transmitter at Leonora, with one hundred and eighty degree coverage (coord|28.317378|S|122.843456|E|region:AU_scale:25000), and
* the Western Australian receiver at Laverton, with one hundred and eighty degree coverage (coord|28.326747|S|122.005234|E|region:AU_scale:25000).

The research and development transmitter and receiver sites are:

* the Alice Springs transmitter at Harts RangeErwin Chlanda, " [http://www.alicespringsnews.com.au/1113.html Nowhere To Hide When Alice's Radar Zeroes In] ", [http://www.alicespringsnews.com.au/ Alice Springs News] , April 28, 2004] , with ninety degree coverage (coord|22.967561|S|134.447937|E|region:AU_scale:25000), and
* the Alice Springs receiver at Mount Everard, with ninety degree coverage (coord|23.521497|S|133.677521|E|region:AU_scale:25000).

The Alice Springs radar was the original 'Jindalee Stage B' test bed on which the design of the other two stations was based. It continues to act as a research and development testbed in addition to its operational role.

The Mount Everard receiver site contains the remains of the first, smaller, 'Jindalee Stage A' receiver. It is visible in aerial photos, behind the stage B receiver (coord|23.530074|S|133.68782|E|region:AU_scale:10000). The stage A transmitter was rebuilt to become the stage B transmitter.

The high frequency radio transmitter arrays at Longreach and Laverton have 28 elements, each driven by a 20 kilowatt power amplfier giving a total power of 560kW. Stage B transmitted 20kW per amplifier. The signal is bounced off the ionosphere and is received at the Longreach and Laverton stations. The receiver stations use [http://www.kel.com.au/ KEL Aerospace] KFR35 series receivers. JORN uses radio frequencies between 5 and 30 MHzcite web|url=http://www.kel.com.au/products/kpr35c1.htm|title=Specification: KPR35C1 HF Radar Receiver|accessdate=2006-11-29|work=KEL Aerospace website|publisher=KEL Aerospace|quote=RF Input Frequency Range: 5 to 30MHz] cite web|url=http://www.kel.com.au/products/kpr35c2.htm|title=Specification: KPR35C2 HF Radar Receiver|accessdate=2006-11-29|work=KEL Aerospace website|publisher=KEL Aerospace|quote=RF Input Frequency Range: 5 to 30MHz] cite web|url=http://www.kel.com.au/products/kpr35c3.htm|title=Specification: KPR35C3 HF Radar Receiver|accessdate=2006-11-29|work=KEL Aerospace website|publisher=KEL Aerospace|quote=RF Input Frequency Range: 5 to 30MHz] , which is far lower than most other civilian and military radars that operate in the microwave frequency band.

The JORN ionosonde network is made up of vertical ionosondes, providing a real time map of the ionosphere. Each vertical incidence sounder (VIS) is a standardized Single-Receiver " [http://umlcar.uml.edu/digisonde_dps.html Digisonde] " Portable Sounder built by Lowell for the JORN. A new ionospheric map is generated every 225 seconds.cite conference|first=R.S.|last=Gardiner-Garden|title=Ionospheric variability in sounding data from JORN|booktitle=Workshop on the Applications of Radio Science (WARS)|date=2006-02|location=Leura, NSW|url =http://www.ips.gov.au/IPSHosted/NCRS/wars/wars2006/proceedings/poster/gardiner_garden_p.ppt|accessdate=2006-11-29] In a clockwise direction around Australia, the locations of the twelve (11 active and one test) JORN ionosondes are below.

The DSTO ionosonde network is not part of the JORN, but is used to further DSTO's research goals. DSTO uses Four-Receiver Digisonde Portable Sounders (DPS-4), also built by Lowell. During 2004 DSTO had ionosondes at the following locations.

From west to east, the seven JORN transponders are located at
Christmas Island,
Broome WA [cite web|last=Newell|first=Peter E.|title=Target Indonesia|work=The Socialist Standard: Journal of The Socialist Party|publisher=Socialist Party of Great Britain|date=2000-05|url=http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/may00/worldmay.html#SubHead2|accessdate=2006-11-29] [cite conference|first=Ben A.|last=Johnson|coauthors=Dr. Yuri Abramovich|title=Detection-estimation of Gaussian sources for under-sampled training conditions: Practical HF OTHR application results|booktitle=Adaptive Sensor Array Processing (ASAP) Workshop|pages=24|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory|date =6-7 June 2006|location=Lexington, Massachusetts|url=http://www.ll.mit.edu/asap/asap_06/pdf/Presentations/04_Johnson-P.pdf|accessdate =2006-11-29]
Kalumburu WA,
Darwin NT,
Nhulunbuy NT,
Normanton QLD and Horn island QLD.

Operation and uses

The JORN network is operated by No. 1 Radar Surveillance Unit RAAF (1RSU). Data from the JORN sites is fed to the JORN Coordination Centre at RAAF Base Edinburgh where it is passed on to other agencies and military units. Officially the system allows the Australian Defence Force to observe all air and sea activity north of Australia to distances of 3000km. This encompasses all of Java, Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and halfway across the Indian Ocean. Other sources put the range at 4000km from the Australian coastline [cite web|url=http://www2.rfsworld.com/StayConnected/pdf/Stay2_98.pdf|title=JORN HF Antenna Arrays Project Completed|accessdate=2006-11-21|last=Styles|first=Barry|date=1998 (issue 2)|format=PDF|work=Stay Connected: The Radio Frequency Systems Bulletin|publisher=Radio Frequency Systems (RFS)|pages= 11-12|quote=RFS Australia proudly completes the USD25M Antenna Arrays for the Jindalee Operational Radar Network on time, on budget and within specification. Jindalee Over the Horizon Radar Network (JORN) is a High Frequency network that is designed to and sea radar coverage of up to 4,000km from a large part of the Australian coastline.] or even as far as Taiwan, China and North Korea [cite web|url=http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htecm/articles/20041031.aspx|title=Electronic Weapons|accessdate=2006-11-21|date=2004-10-31|work=Strategy Page|publisher=StrategyWorld.com|quote=In 1997, the prototype JORN system demonstrated the ability to detect and monitor missile launches by Chinese off the cost of Taiwan, and to pass that information onto U.S. Navy commanders. JORN should be able to monitor launches from China and North Korea and provide data into U.S. ground and sea-based ballistic missile defense systems.] .

The JORN is so sensitive it is able to track planes taking off and landing in East Timor 2600 km away. It is able to detect a Cessna 172 aeroplane. Current research is anticipated to increase its sensitivity by a factor of one hundred beyond this level. It is also reportedly able to detect stealth aircraft ; aside from the fact that most stealthy aircraft are optimized for defeating much higher-frequency radar from front-on rather than low-frequency radars from above, JORN is reputedly able to detect aircraft wake turbulence. Project DUNDEE [cite web|url=http://www.missilethreat.com/systems/project_dundee_.html|title=Project DUNDEE|accessdate=2006-11-21|date=2004-08-01|work=MISSILETHREAT.com|publisher=The Claremont Institute] is a cooperative research project, with American missile defence research, into using JORN to detect missiles [" [http://www.mda.mil/mdalink/html/dndenews.html U.S. And Australia Cooperate In Missile Detection] ", [http://www.mda.mil/ Missile Defense Agency] ] . The JORN is anticipated to play a role in the Strategic Defence Initiative, detecting and tracking missile launches in Asia. [cite news|first=Brendan|last=Nicholson|title=Australia's key role in missile shield|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/australias-key-role-in-missile-shield/2006/01/06/1136387625745.html|work=The Age|publisher=Fairfax|date=2006-01-07|accessdate=2006-11-18]

A significant use of the JORN is the detection of boats landing on the northern shores of Australia.

ee also

*Ionosphere
*Over-the-horizon radar
*Imaging radar
*Cobra Mist

References