Editing Ground-controlled interception (section)

==Post WWII==
More recently, in both the [[Korean War|Korean]] and [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] wars, the [[North Korea]]ns and [[North Vietnam]]ese had important GCI systems which helped them harass the opposing forces (although in both cases due to the superiority in the number of US planes the effect was eventually minimised{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}). GCI was important to the US and allied forces during these conflicts also, although not so much as for their opponents.

The most advanced GCI system deployed to date was the US's [[Semi Automatic Ground Environment]] (SAGE) system. SAGE used massive computers to combine reports sent in via [[teleprinter]] from the [[Pinetree Line]] and other radar networks to produce a picture of all of the air traffic in a particular sector's area. The information was then displayed on terminals in the building, allowing operators to pick defensive assets (fighters and missiles) to be directed onto the target simply by selecting them on the terminal. Messages would then automatically be routed back out via teleprinter to the fighter airbases with interception instructions on them.

The system was later upgraded to relay directional information directly to the [[autopilot]]s of the [[interceptor aircraft]] like the [[F-106 Delta Dart]]. The pilot was tasked primarily with getting the aircraft into the air (and back), and then flying in a parking orbit until called for. When an interception mission started, the SAGE computers automatically flew the plane into range of the target, allowing the pilot to concentrate solely on operating the complex onboard radar.

The RAF's post-war system was originally [[ROTOR]], which was largely an expanded and rationalized version of their wartime system and remained entirely manual in operation. This was upset by the introduction of the [[AMES Type 80]] radar, which was originally intended as a very long-range early warning system for ROTOR but demonstrated its ability to control interceptions as well. This led to the abandonment of the ROTOR network and its operation being handled at the Type 80 "Master Radar Stations". In the 1960s the [[Linesman/Mediator]] project looked to computerize the system in a fashion similar to SAGE, but was years late, significantly underpowered, and never operated properly. There was some thought given to sending directions to the [[English Electric Lightning]] interceptors in a fashion similar to SAGE, but this was never implemented.

GCI is typically augmented with the presence of extremely large [[early warning radar]] arrays, which could alert GCI to inbound hostile aircraft hours before they arrive, giving enough time to prepare and launch aircraft and set them up for an intercept either using their own radars or with the assistance of regular radar stations once the [[Bogey (brevity code)#B|bogeys]] approach their coverage. An example of this type of system is [[Australia]]'s [[Jindalee over-the-horizon radar]]. Such radars typically operate by bouncing their signal off layers in the atmosphere.