Cloud Imaging Using the NRL WARLOC Radar

The Naval Research Laboratory has recently developed a 3–10 kW average, 80 kW peak power 94 GHz radar with scanning capability, WARLOC. This radar is powered by a gyroklystron developed by a team led by NRL. One application has been to image clouds. New capabilities of WARLOC include imaging with greatly improved sensitivity and detail as well as the ability to detect much lower strength cloud returns. Here we show how pulse averaging enhances the sensitivity of WARLOC. Since the available power is so high, it can be used in moderate rain to both measure the rainfall rate and to image the cloud above the rain.