What initiates the interrogation pulse when TACAN range is required?

What initiates the interrogation pulse when TACAN range is required?

• A. Ground Station
• B. Airborne Transceiver
• C. Internal Timer
• D. Operator

Answer: (B)

TACAN range is determined by the time it takes for a signal to travel from the aircraft to the ground station and back. The process starts when the aircraft’s TACAN interrogator (the airborne transceiver) sends out an interrogation pulse. The ground TACAN transponder receives that interrogation and replies after a short, fixed delay. The aircraft then measures the round-trip time to compute distance. The ground station only replies; it doesn’t initiate the interrogation, and an internal timer or operator isn’t driving the initial pulse. So the initiator of the interrogation pulse is the airborne transceiver.

TACAN range is determined by the time it takes for a signal to travel from the aircraft to the ground station and back. The process starts when the aircraft’s TACAN interrogator (the airborne transceiver) sends out an interrogation pulse. The ground TACAN transponder receives that interrogation and replies after a short, fixed delay. The aircraft then measures the round-trip time to compute distance. The ground station only replies; it doesn’t initiate the interrogation, and an internal timer or operator isn’t driving the initial pulse. So the initiator of the interrogation pulse is the airborne transceiver.