Prohira, S.de Vries, K.Allison, P.Beatty, J.Besson, D.Connolly, A.Dasgupta, P.Deaconu, C.De Kockere, S.Frikken, D.Hast, C.Huesca Santiago, E.Kuo, C.Y.Latif, U.A.Lukic, V.Meures, T.Mulrey, K.Nam, J.Nozdrina, A.Oberla, E.Ralston, John P.Sbrocco, C.Stanley, R.S.Torres, J.Toscano, S.Van den Broeck, D.van Eijndhoven, N.Wissel, S.2023-07-312023-07-312022-03-18S. Prohira et al. Toward High Energy Neutrino Detection with the Radar Echo Telescope for Cosmic Rays (RET-CR). 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2021). July 12th – 23rd, 2021. Online – Berlin, Germany. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22323/1.395.1082https://hdl.handle.net/1808/34678The Radar Echo Telescope for Cosmic Rays (RET-CR) is a pathfinder experiment for the Radar Echo Telescope for Neutrinos (RET-N), a next-generation in-ice detection experiment for ultra high energy neutrinos. RET-CR will serve as the testbed for the radar echo method to probe high-energy particle cascades in nature, whereby a transmitted radio signal is reflected from the ionization left in its wake. This method, recently validated at SLAC experiment T576, shows promising preliminary sensitivity to neutrino-induced cascades above the energy range of optical detectors like IceCube. RET-CR intends to use an in-nature test beam: the dense, in-ice cascade produced when the air shower of an ultra high energy cosmic ray impacts a high-elevation ice sheet. This in-ice cascade, orders of magnitude more dense than the in-air shower that preceded it, is similar in profile and density to the expected cascade from a neutrino-induced cascade deep in the ice. RET-CR will be triggered using surface scintillator technology and will be used to develop, test, and deploy the hardware, firmware, and software needed for the eventual RET-N. We present the strategy, status, and design sensitivity of RET-CR, and discuss its application to eventual neutrino detection.© Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Article10.22323/1.395.1082openAccess