Royal Radar Establishment

[1] The earlier research and development work of TRE and RRDE on radar was expanded into solid state physics, electronics, and computer hardware and software.

The earliest concerted effort to develop radar in the UK dates to 1935, and Robert Watt replied to an Air Ministry question about radio-based death rays by stating they were impossible, but using radio as a detection means was possible.

While on a Sunday drive in the area, Watt noticed the large and unused Bawdsey Manor, and this was leased by the Air Ministry to become first radar research centre in the country.

The first project of this "Army Cell" was a ranging system for anti-aircraft artillery, but they soon added the Coast Defence radars and began work on the proximity fuse.

The facilities in Dundee proved far too small and isolated, and in May 1940 they moved again, this time to Worth Matravers on the south coast of England, also a short distance from Bournemouth.

DERA split on 2 June 2001 into two parts, a government body called Dstl (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory) and a company destined for privatisation, which became QinetiQ.

[2] Although less conspicuous among academic scientists, these divisions were major players in the defence community, both in policy decision making and as an interface with industry.

[1] On returning to RRE as Director in 1962, George Macfarlane reorganized the technical departments into: Military and Civil Systems (comprising Ground Radar and Air Traffic Control, Guided Weapons and Airborne Radar groups), Physics and Electronics (comprising Physics and Electronic Groups) and Engineering.

"Despite the policy shift away from fighters ... to guided weapons for UK air defence, ... RRE continued to argue for strike aircraft and kept up the necessary radar research programs.

On 20–24 July 1970, a working conference was arranged by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) to discuss the problems of implementing the language.

In 1968, the Minister of Supply assured a member of parliament that the results of research at RRE on infra-red detectors would be made available to British industry.