4-5-3 Surveillance Radar
AIM Chapter 4. Air Traffic Control — Section 4-5, Surveillance Systems
Official text — AIM 4-5-3
AIM — FAA OPERATIONAL GUIDANCEa. Surveillance radars are divided into two general categories: Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR) and Air Route Surveillance Radar (ARSR).
1. ASR is designed to provide relatively short-range coverage in the general vicinity of an airport and to serve as an expeditious means of handling terminal area traffic through observation of precise aircraft locations on a radarscope. The ASR can also be used as an instrument approach aid.
2. ARSR is a long-range radar system designed primarily to provide a display of aircraft locations over large areas.
b. Surveillance radars scan through 360 degrees of azimuth and present target information on a radar display located in a tower or center. This information is used independently or in conjunction with other navigational aids in the control of air traffic.
Reproduced from the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (Basic (with Change 3)). The AIM is FAA guidance, not regulation. Verify against the official source before relying on it operationally.
Is this a regulation?
No — this is FAA guidance, not a regulation.
Aeronautical Information Manual. FAA operational guidance and recommended practices. The AIM is not regulatory, although it often explains how to comply with regulations.