Graphic display that shows all collated data from a ship's on-board sensors
This article is about the graphic display of sensor information. For the graphical method of displaying multivariate data, see Radar chart.
The surface plot on a Cold War era British warship
In naval terminology, a plot is a graphic display that shows all collated data from a ship's on-board sensors, i.e. radar, sonar and EW systems. They also displayed information from external sources - for example, other vessel or aircraft reports. There are four different types of plot, each with varying capabilities, i.e. range, depending on their role;[1]
Air plot: Used for tracking air contacts, i.e. planes and EW information.
Surface plot: Used for tracking contacts on the surface of the water, i.e. other ships.[2][3][4] It can also perform a variety of roles such as:
Providing a trace of a ship's own course and speed over time.[2][4]
Sub-surface plot: Used for tracking contacts below the surface of the water, i.e. submarines.
General operations plot: Used for tracking shipping on a large-scale chart. Was also used to display exercise boundaries, airplanes and other significant features of maritime interest. In the Royal Australian Navy, the scale used was generally 5 or 10 miles (8.0 or 16.1 km) per 1 inch (25 mm).
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