National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1979. Radiation Intensity of the PAVE PAWS Radar System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/19884.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1979. Radiation Intensity of the PAVE PAWS Radar System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/19884.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1979. Radiation Intensity of the PAVE PAWS Radar System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/19884.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1979. Radiation Intensity of the PAVE PAWS Radar System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/19884.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1979. Radiation Intensity of the PAVE PAWS Radar System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/19884.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1979. Radiation Intensity of the PAVE PAWS Radar System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/19884.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1979. Radiation Intensity of the PAVE PAWS Radar System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/19884.
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Radt.it ion Intensity of the PAVE PAWS Ra<!ar System National Reso.irch Council Washington DC Engineer ing Panel on the PAVE PAW3 Radai' System*Air Force Systems Command, Washington. DC (411317) Finn I rept. AUTHOR: McMillan, Bcockway; Bookei", Henry G.; Cutler, C. Chaw in; Gandhi, Om P.; Lerch, Charles F2M2C1 Fid: 171. 6R. 63H. 68F GRAI7924 197<j 51P Contract: F49620-78-C-0 118 Monitor: AFSC-TR-79-08 _Seo also AD-A072 332._ Abstract: This volume contains the results of a panel study of the assessment of certain aspects of the PAVE PAWS radar facility in regard to radiation emissions. (Author) Descriptors: 'Radar antennas, *Radnr be;jn.s. Antenna radiation pattor-ns, Field intensity, Microwaves, Phased arrays, Warning systems. Beam r,teeriny. Digital computers. Reliability, Safety , Antimissile defense systems. Radar stations, Massachusetts, Air Force facilities Identifiers: PAVE PAWS project, Otis Air Force Base, Cape Cod, »Ficld strength, Radiation hazards, NTISDODXA, NTISDODAF AD-A072 333/8ST NFIS Prices: PC A04/MF A01

Radiation Intensity of the PAVE PAWS Radar System A Report by the Engineering Panel on the PAVE PAWS Radar System of the Assembly of Engineering National Research Council / r NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Washington, D.C. 1979 NAS-NAE 1373

NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the Councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the panel responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. This report represents work under Contract F49620-78-C-0ll8 between the United States Air Force and the National Academy of Sciences, Copies of this publication are available from: Assembly of Engineering National Research Council 2l0l Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 204l8 and the: Defense Documentation Center Cameron Station Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Printed in the United States of America

6 C c C ENGINEERING PANEL ON THE PAVE PAWS RADAR SYSTEM Brockway McMillan, Chairman Vice President, Military Systems Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. Henry G. Booker Professor, Department of Applied Physics and Information Science University of California - San Diego C. Chapin Cutler Professor, Applied Physics Stanford University Om P. Gandhi Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering University of Utah Charles Lerch Vice President and Chief Scientist System Planning Corporation Russell C. Newhouse Engineering Consultant Chatham, New Jersey Victor A. Vyssotsky Executive Director, Circuit Provisioning Systems Division Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. Kenneth S. McAlpine, Executive Secretary Debra A. Tidwell, Administrative Assistant

PREFACE In May l978, when the U.S. Air Force requested the National Research Council to assess certain aspects of its newest missile defense warning system then under construction at the Otis Air Force Base on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the facility was the subject of intense public concern that exposure to its radiation emissions might be harmful to humans. The purpose of the radar facility, known as PAVE PAWS (PAVE being a code word for the Air Force unit in charge of the project and PAWS an acronym for Phased Array Warning System) is to detect and track ballistic mis- siles launched at sea as far as 3,000 nautical miles from U.S. shores. In order to discern ballistic missiles early in their trajectory, it operates at an angle as low as 3 degrees above the horizon. Its long range capability is achieved by a fairly high average power level of l45kW. The Research Council's initial response was to establish two sep- arate panels to examine the facility--one, the Engineering Panel on the PAVE PAWS Radar System, under the Assembly of Engineering, and .the other, the Panel on the Extent of Radiation from the PAVE PAWS Radar System in the Assembly of Life Sciences. This is the report of the engineering panel. The report of the second panel, consisting of an analysis of the exposure levels and potential biological effects of PAVE PAWS, will be published separately. From the beginning, the engineering panel was charged with reviewing the specifications and performance of the radar system with respect to its highest intensity of radio frequency radiation on Cape Cod. More to the point, the panel addressed three specific questions: o Can estimates based on the data obtained from tests and measure- ments of the .PAVE PAWS microwave emissions provide vali,d upper limits to the radiation intensity to which the public is likely to be exposed? o In particular, does the analysis of the maximum radiation levels of PAVE PAWS by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provide valid upper limits for the emissions to be encountered by the public? o Is there any significant probability that deviations from normal operating procedures will result in the estimated or measured limits of radiation to be exceeded? The panel did not address questions of potential hazards, relative safety, and health effects of particular levels of microwave radiation. Nor did it attempt to evaluate the desirability or adequacy of existing radiation limits.

During the summer of l978, the panel examined several documents setting out the description and function of the PAVE PAWS system, the design and performance specifications given to the primary contractor, the Raytheon Company, and the Environmental Impact Analysis prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency, which contains detailed esti- mates of maximum radiation levels to be expected where the public has access in the vicinity of the facility. On September 7, l978, the panel met at the Hanscom Air Force Base near Bedford, Massachusetts, to discuss the technical aspects of the system and the test measurements with representatives of the PAVE PAWS program office and Raytheon. Participants at this meeting are listed in the Appendix- The panel was impressed by the thoroughness of their presentations and the conciseness of their answers to questions. As it happened, the meeting had originally been scheduled for two days, but, because the participants were so well prepared and knowledgeable, it required only one day. The introduction contains a background to the PAVE PAWS system and a brief chronology of events relating to it. This is followed by an overview summary of the principal findings of the panel's study. Section 3 is a technical description of the facility. Section 4 deals with the design of the phased array antenna, the antenna pattern, and the sensi- tivity of the pattern to malfunctions of components and degradations of the microwave beam. Section 5 concerns the pulse patterns of the radar and the intensities and time variations of the radiation field measured at ground sites near the radar. In Section 6 the panel reviews the measurements that have been or are still to be made of the radiation field. Section 7 addresses the configuration of computers that control the radar and the major features that protect against malfunctions and improper steering of a well-formed beam. Section 8 includes the effects of external conditions, such as weather, that might adversely affect the formation or control of the radiation pattern, and other conditions that might cause variations from the designated radiation patterns or intensities.

CONTENTS l. Introduction l 2. Overview and Summary 4 3. Description 7 4. Antenna Pattern l2 5. Pulse Patterns and Peak Power 20 6. Measurements 29 7. Computers, Steering, and Beam Pointing 33 8. Conditions Affecting Patterns and Intensities 37 References 40 Appendix 4l

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