radar beacon

American  

noun

1. a radar device at a fixed location that, on receiving a radar signal, automatically transmits a particular radar signal in reply, identifying itself and enabling navigators of ships and aircraft to determine their distance and direction from it.

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radar beacon British  

noun

1. Also called: racon.  a device for transmitting a coded radar signal in response to a signal from an aircraft or ship. The coded signal is then used by the navigator to determine his position

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Etymology

Origin of radar beacon

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

To ensure the safety of over 5,000 U.S. aircraft flying simultaneously during peak times, air traffic controllers monitor and communicate with them after receiving data from the robust radar beacon system.

From Textbooks • Feb. 13, 2015

Military radar on the ground showed the plane turning west after its transponder — the radar beacon that identifies the plane and its location — stopped transmitting for some unknown reason.

From Washington Post • Mar. 19, 2014

Its only payload: a radar beacon, to make it easier to track, and an assortment of dummy instruments, for crash survival tests.

From Time Magazine Archive

They turned on their own radio transmitter and radar beacon only when they crossed over the tracking stations.

From Time Magazine Archive

Since it began orbiting Venus three years ago, it has studied the planet's weather by photographing changing cloud patterns and lifted its veil with a radar beacon, mapping 93% of Venus' shrouded surface.

From Time Magazine Archive