Type 371 Artillery Locating Radar | The Electronic Battlefield

The Type 371 is a Chinese copy of the British Thorn-EMI ‘Cymbeline’ artillery locating radar, a system widely deployed by many armies around the world and its excellent performance tested in many conflicts. The PLA obtained four British-made ‘Cymbeline’ radar sets in the mid-1980s and these systems played an important role in the China-Vietnam border conflicts. These radar sets were later used as examples for reverse-engineering. The Chinese-made ‘Cymbeline’ radar was designated Type 371 and it is widely equipped by the PLA ground forces in their artillery reconnaissance units.

The radar detects the flight path of the mortar bomb or other artillery projectile at two points in its trajectory, as it passes through the radar beam. This allows the Grid Reference of the enemy base plate to be identified and engaged with artillery. The lightweight radar system can be fast relocated in the battlefield on a vehicle or two-wheel trailer.