Which scan type is used for fire control?

Which scan type is used for fire control?

• A. Circular Scan - EW
• B. Sector Scan - HF, vertical and horizontal
• C. Raster Scan - Snake
• D. Conical - Fire Control

Answer: (D)

For fire control, you need continuous, precise tracking of the target to compute the firing solution. Conical scanning achieves this by sweeping the radar beam around the boresight in a cone. As the beam traces a circle around the center line, the signal strength changes in a predictable way when the target is off the boresight. By comparing these variations as the beam rotates, the system generates an angular error signal that tells you exactly how to steer the antenna (and adjust elevation and azimuth) to recenter the target. This ongoing error feedback is what lets you maintain a locked track and calculate lead for firing. Other scan patterns serve different purposes: circular scanning is common in broader surveillance or EW contexts, sector scanning is used for wide-area searching, and raster (snake) scanning is more about imaging a scene. They don’t provide the same continuous, reliable bearing error feedback needed for precise fire control, which is why conical scanning is the appropriate choice here.

For fire control, you need continuous, precise tracking of the target to compute the firing solution. Conical scanning achieves this by sweeping the radar beam around the boresight in a cone. As the beam traces a circle around the center line, the signal strength changes in a predictable way when the target is off the boresight. By comparing these variations as the beam rotates, the system generates an angular error signal that tells you exactly how to steer the antenna (and adjust elevation and azimuth) to recenter the target. This ongoing error feedback is what lets you maintain a locked track and calculate lead for firing.

Other scan patterns serve different purposes: circular scanning is common in broader surveillance or EW contexts, sector scanning is used for wide-area searching, and raster (snake) scanning is more about imaging a scene. They don’t provide the same continuous, reliable bearing error feedback needed for precise fire control, which is why conical scanning is the appropriate choice here.