Red Steer

Red Steer

Red Steer at the tip of an Avro Vulcan's tailcone
Country of origin	UK
Manufacturer	EKCO
Introduced	1957
Frequency	X band
RPM	1,000
Range	18 nmi (33 km; 21 mi)
Diameter	18 in (460 mm)
Azimuth	45º
Power	200 kW
Other Names	ARI 5919, ARI 5952

Red Steer, also known as ARI 5919 and ARI 5952^[a] depending on the version, was a tail warning radar used on the British V bomber force. Built by EKCO, it was developed from the experimental AI.20 radar for the English Electric Lightning. The Lightning required its radar to be remotely installed in the nose of the aircraft, and this made the set equally suitable for remote mounting in the tail of the bombers.

Red Steer scanned a cone 45 degrees across behind the aircraft and presented any returns on a display at the electronic warfare station. It was able to reliably detect large fighter-sized aircraft at about 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi). Lacking any defensive weapons, the purpose of Red Steer was to allow the operator to give instructions to the bomber pilot to evade the approach of an interceptor, as well as properly time the use of various electronic countermeasures against the interceptor's radar, notably the Red Shrimp.

Red Steer began replacing the earlier Orange Putter in 1957, after crews suggested the earlier system was too limited. In service, Red Steer was found to be difficult to operate due to its display system. This led to the upgraded Mark 2 version with a greatly improved display and increased range to 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi). These were fitted to the Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor fleet in the 1960s and remained in operation with them until they left service in the 1980s and 90s.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).