Plain English Meaning

A type of radar that uses very short radio waves to see through fog, dust, and other things that block normal vision. It helps pilots see the runway and terrain when the weather makes it hard to see out the window.

Full Definition

A radar system that operates in the millimeter wavelength band of the radio spectrum (roughly 30 to 300 GHz, with wavelengths of 1 to 10 millimeters). In aviation, millimeter wave radar is used in some enhanced and synthetic vision systems to penetrate fog, smoke, dust, and low-visibility conditions, producing a usable image of the , terrain, and when 's natural view is degraded.