Definition
A process used by air traffic controllers to ensure that the radar separation between two aircraft never decreases below an established minimum, typically 1.5 nautical miles laterally between aircraft on the final approach course within 10 NM of the runway end.
Plain English
A controller's way of making sure two aircraft on final approach never get closer to each other than a set minimum distance.
Context Anchor
Seen in air traffic control and radar-display discussions, especially when aircraft are close together on a controller’s screen.
Derivation
"Target" here refers to the radar return -- the blip representing an aircraft on a controller's radar screen. "Resolution" comes from Latin resolvere, meaning to settle or determine. Together: the controller actively settles the spacing between two radar targets so they stay safely apart.
Why Pilots Care
Prevents loss of separation between aircraft when visual contact is not available.
Intuition Check
Target resolution does not mean solving a problem or improving screen sharpness in general. Here it means keeping two displayed aircraft targets separate enough that they do not appear to touch or merge.
Example Sentence 1
Approach applied target resolution to maintain the required spacing between the two arrivals on final.
Example Sentence 2
Target resolution continued until the aircraft were no longer on conflicting courses.