View source for AN/ASG-18

{{Short description|Prototype fire control radar system}}
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The '''AN/ASG-18 Fire Control System''' produced by [[Hughes Aircraft]] was a prototype airborne [[fire control radar]] system for the planned [[North American XF-108 Rapier]] interceptor aircraft, and the [[Lockheed YF-12]] for the [[United States Air Force]]. It was the US's first [[Pulse-Doppler radar]], giving it [[look-down/shoot-down]] capability, and was also the first [[track while scan]] radar (could track one target at a time). This was paired with an [[infrared search and track (IRST)]] system. Range of the radar was estimated at between {{Convert|200|{{En dash}}|300|mi|abbr=on}}, with reliable detection of bomber-sized targets at {{convert|100|mi}}. The installation itself was massive, weighing {{Convert|2100|lb}}, and taking up most of the nose of the aircraft. The system was to be used with the Hughes [[AIM-47 Falcon]] missile, which also had a range of about 100 miles.

While development work was done with the XF-108, the AN/ASG-18 and Falcon missiles were first tested on a highly modified [[Convair B-58 Hustler]] bomber. To fit the radar, the nose was lengthened nearly {{Convert|7|ft}}, and the infrared sensors were mounted on either side of the forward fuselage. The resulting nose shape led to it being nicknamed "''Snoopy''". A single missile was housed in a specially built pod underneath the fuselage.

Before the test "Snoopy" could fly, the XF-108 program was cancelled, and the proposed [[Lockheed YF-12]] interceptor was to instead receive the radar/missile system pair. Tests of the system were conducted first in 1960 and until 1963 only on the modified B-58, after which the YF-12 took over until the cancellation of the whole program in 1966.<ref>[http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/B-52s_in_the_desert.htm Check-Six.com - B-58 'Snoopy' - Radar testbed]</ref>

In accordance with the [[Joint Electronics Type Designation System]] (JETDS), the "''AN/ASG-18''" designation represents the 18th design of an Army-Navy airborne electronic device for special fire control equipment. The JETDS system also now is used to name all [[Department of Defense]] electronic systems.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==See Also==
{{Portal|Electronics|Aviation}}
*[[List of military electronics of the United States]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:AN/ASG-18}}
[[Category:Aircraft radars|AN ASG-18]]
[[Category:Computer systems of the United States Air Force]]
[[Category:Radars of the United States Air Force]]
[[Category:Hughes Aircraft Company]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1960s]]
[[Category:Military electronics of the United States]]
[[Category:Military radars of the United States]]

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