A counter-battery radar detects artillery projectiles fired by one or more guns, howitzers, mortars and rocket launchers and from their trajectories locates the position on the ground of the weapon that fired it. Alternatively, or in addition, it may determine where the projectile will land. The normal purpose of a counter-battery radar is to locate hostile batteries up to about 50 km away depending on the radar's capabilities.
If the radar is fast and has fast communications, then it may be possible to provide some warning to troops targeted by the incoming projectiles. However, many projectiles have a time of flight under a minute, which makes it difficult to give warnings without a highly automated communication system, unless the target is in the vicinity of the radar. Counter-battery radars can also be used to observe the fire of friendly artillery and calculate corrections to adjust its fire onto a particular place.
Radar is the most recently developed means of locating hostile artillery. The emergence of indirect fire in World War I saw the development of sound ranging, flash spotting and air reconnaissance, both visual and photographic. Radars, like sound ranging and flash spotting, require hostile guns, etc., to fire before they can be located.
Read more about Counter-battery Radar: History, Description, Threats, Counter Battery Radar Systems
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