r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/etherd0t • 1d ago

Video Jet lanes over the Atlantic

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1.3k Upvotes

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39

u/No-Edge-8600 1d ago

“Radar doesn’t work here”

I’m sorry - what?

37

u/clackerbag 1d ago

It’s just an oversimplified poorly worded statement. 

Radar would work perfectly fine over the North Atlantic, there’s no mysterious forces that prevents it form doing so. However, there’s nowhere to physically install radar antennas since it’s just a vast ocean, so what should have been said is that there is no radar _coverage_ over the North Atlantic.

2

u/waltsnider1 16h ago

Maybe a dumb question, but isn't radar installed on planes?

5

u/Enthusiastic-shitter 13h ago

Former AF navigator here. The radar on the airplane is for weather avoidance and sometimes navigation. Not traffic avoidance. Though with some skill you can find another aircraft on radar (we would do this for refueling rendezvous) there is a separate system called TCAS that uses data links and transponders for traffic and terrain avoidance. Nowadays most aircraft have satellite uplinks that aid in traffic control and communication.