Jindalee is reflected from the ionosphere. Anyone who has listened to SW radio would know how variable that is...
Australia's Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) comprises three Over-The-Horizon Radar (OTHR) systems and forms part of a layered surveillance network providing coverage of Australia's northern approaches.
JORN provides wide area surveillance of Australia's northern approaches at ranges of 1000 to 3000 km from the radar sites, and is used to conduct air and maritime surveillance in support of Australia's national surveillance effort.
JORN was designed to detect air targets equivalent in size to a BAE Hawk-127 aircraft or larger, and objects on the surface of the water equivalent in size to an Armidale Class Patrol Boat or larger.
The extent of available JORN coverage and actual system performance is highly variable and principally dependent on the state of the ionosphere, environmental conditions and an object's size and construction.
Can the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) detect wooden boats? A. The detection of wooden vessels by Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) is highly improbable. JORN was designed and funded for the defence of Australia, with specifications to detect surface vessels of the size and design of an Armidale class patrol boat. JORN was neither designed, nor is it suitable, as a persistent, broad-area surveillance tool for wooden boats. For an object to be detected by an over-the-horizon radar it needs to possess a radar reflective (metal) surface of suitable size so that sufficient radar energy is reflected back to the radar receiver. Wooden boats do not generally satisfy this requirement.
