radar beacon

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.

radar beacon

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of radar beacon¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

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.

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The transponder — the radar beacon that identifies a plane and its location — stopped transmitting.

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The plane, she explains, will take off into the wind to give lift, then turn down towards the radar beacon at Seaford.

Read more on The Guardian