Radar
The radar is your tool for detecting incoming units at your own ward. Anybody that is heading in the direction of your ward can (and will) be detected, however there are various levels of radar systems, and the opponent might be using cloaked mechs to make the squadron seem much smaller than it really is, or it might actually be invisible for a few hours before it's detected.
Generally, if no cloaked mechs are being used, and you have a basic radar system, you will get a notification about incoming mechs after about 10 minutes. This will show up on the graphical radar as being "out of radar", however, if you go to the Radar Center (in the Ward game menu), you will see the exact information there. As the squadron gets closer and closer to your ward, it will eventually show up more clearly on your graphical radar (which is updated every 10th minute).
If cloaked mechs are used, it depends on your radar systems whether your radars are able to make accurate reports on the amount of units coming to your ward. The accuracy will depend on the unit's cloaking level, which is a percentage number. This level is then matched up against the radar system's scanning radius. This means that if you have a second level radar system (which has a scanning radius of 16 hours) and a unit with 60% cloaking level is attacking you, it will not be detected until the unit has reached the 6 hour radius (40% of 16 hours).
Below is a full listing of scanning radii for the different radar systems.
| Level | Minimum | Maximum | Level | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 hours | 8 hours | 3 | 6 hours | 24 hours |
| 2 | 5 hours | 16 hours | 4 | 7 hours | 32 hours |