AN/SPS-40
AN/SPS-40 on USS Trenton | |
| Country of origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Electronics Company |
| Introduced | 1961 |
| Type | 2D Air-search |
| Frequency | 400 - 450 MHz, UHF band |
| RPM |
|
| Range | 250 nmi |
| Diameter | 140" x 214" |
| Azimuth | 0-360° |
| Elevation | Vertical beam width 19° |
| Precision | Horiz. beam width 10.5° |
| Power | 200 kW - 300 kW |
The AN/SPS-40 is a United States Navy two-dimensional, long range air search radar that is capable of providing contact bearing and range. It was replaced by the AN/SPS-49 on newer ships and on ships that received the New Threat Upgrade. The SPS-40, being a vacuum tube design, was notoriously sensitive to the vibration from shipboard gunfire. A later redesign into a largely solid-state system not only improved its performance (cutting the number of cabinets by more than half) also featured one of the best MTI (Moving Target Indicator) units in the fleet - a rarity in the early 1970s.
In accordance with the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), the "AN/SPS-40" designation represents the 40th design of an Army-Navy electronic device for surface ship search radar system. The JETDS system also now is used to name all Department of Defense electronic systems.