Radar has short-range and long-range limitations.

Radar has short-range and long-range limitations.

• A. Short
• B. Long
• C. Both
• D. None

Answer: (C)

Radar performance is constrained across the whole range, and both ends have real limitations. At short range, there’s a minimum range issue: the system is transmitting a pulse and can’t listen for returns immediately, plus near-field clutter and self-returns from the vessel or waves can mask nearby objects. So targets very close to the radar can be hard to detect. At long range, the returned signal weakens with distance, so the signal-to-noise ratio can drop below what’s needed to make a reliable detection. Atmospheric conditions, beam spreading, and a small target’s radar cross-section all make distant targets harder to spot. Because limitations exist both near and far, the statement that radar has short-range and long-range limitations is true.

Radar performance is constrained across the whole range, and both ends have real limitations. At short range, there’s a minimum range issue: the system is transmitting a pulse and can’t listen for returns immediately, plus near-field clutter and self-returns from the vessel or waves can mask nearby objects. So targets very close to the radar can be hard to detect. At long range, the returned signal weakens with distance, so the signal-to-noise ratio can drop below what’s needed to make a reliable detection. Atmospheric conditions, beam spreading, and a small target’s radar cross-section all make distant targets harder to spot. Because limitations exist both near and far, the statement that radar has short-range and long-range limitations is true.