Seems lots of people don't agree with the golf swing style of scanning. Why golf swing?
TL;DRThe golf-swing scan is only a first-pass implementation; the intent is a radar that builds energy the longer it's held, widening what it finds but risking failure, so detection isn't a guaranteed one-press ping.
The 'golf swing' is a first-pass implementation. The thinking is they want a way of exposing hidden ships. You've got a sabre hiding, the idea is to charge a pulse and release it, and you can find the ship for a few seconds, then the ship fades. There needs to be some gameplay where the hunting ship can expose the hiding ship. The system shown yesterday is a first pass. What they want is a system that will build the energy you're putting into a radar, and the longer you hold it the more it'll generate and the wider it'll fetch information from, but there's a risk of it blowing up in your face. They want a system where you can fail. You thought you were the hunter, but you've just blown your radar, and can't see anything for two minutes. They want a system where it's not a done deal; you don't just press 'ping' and everyone's available.