Science: The Long Arm Of Radar

Pentagon warriors enlist the ionosphere against smugglers

What is the best vantage point for spotting a drug-smuggling plane crossing the Caribbean? Strangely enough, one good place to be is Bangor, Me., a city thousands of kilometers north of the smugglers' favorite routes. Last week in Bangor the U.S. Air Force showed off the operations center for a new radar system that can "see" up to 3,300 km (2,000 miles), or nearly ten times as far as conventional radar. Built by General Electric, the OTH (for over-the- horizon) radar system was originally developed to give the U.S. military an early warning of any approaching Soviet bombers. But in these...

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