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LATEST RADAR SYSTEM TREND

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LATEST RADAR SYSTEM TRENDS

“If it was not hard everyone would do it, it is the hard that makes it great
and it is all about Air Defence” - John Warden III

INTRODUCTION

1. Air Defence has become one of the pivotal assets in determining

the outcome of modern-day battlefields. Shooters and sensors are the
components of Air Defence. Among the sensors, radar plays the most
vital role as sensors that facilitates the engagement of targets by the
shooters.

2. In any future conflict it is obvious that the attacker will resort to

massive air raids at the very outset of hostility. This will be planned to
destroy the Air Force of the defender on ground and to make the
existing air fields unusable, followed by the air attacks on important
installations.Thus it is a must to detect and accurately track the
targets. Air-Defense Radars are used as early-warning devices
because they can detect approaching enemy aircraft or missiles at
great distances. In the case of an attack, early detection of the enemy
is vital for a successful defense against attack. Antiaircraft defenses in
the form of anti-aircraft artillery (abbreviated to “AAA”), missiles, or
fighter planes must be brought to a high degree of readiness in time to
repel an attack. Range and bearing information, provided by Air-
Defense Radars, used to initially position a fire-control tracking radar
on a target.

3. With the advancement of technology the countries throughout the

world are building advanced radar systems to counter air threat from
enemies. F-5 Tiger II APQ-159, NEMESIS MESA Radar, Delta Radar
System etc are some examples of modern radar systems. Modern
days radars are now well capable to operate against ECM techniques.

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4. At this backdrop, this service paper aims at delineating different

modern radar systems, especially PESA and AESA radars, various
pros and cons and applications.

AIM
5. The aim of this presentation is to give you an oversight of the
latest radar system trends of modern Air Defence.

SCOPE

6. The presentation will be unfolded in the following sequence:

a. Basic radar principle.
b. Types of radar.
c. Phase array radar.
d. Active Electrically Scanned Array Phases radar (AESA).
e. Passive Electrically Scanned Array Phases radar (PESA).
f. Comparison between AESA and PESA.
g. Application in BD Military Perspective.
h. Recommendations.

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BASIC RADAR PRINCIPLE

7. RADAR is an electromagnetic based detection system that works by

radiating electromagnetic waves and then studying the echo or the
reflected back waves. The full form
of RADAR is RAdio Detection And Ranging. Detection refers to whether the
target is present or not. The target can be stationary or movable, i.e., non-
stationary. Ranging refers to the distance between the Radar and the
target.

8. The radar working principle is very simple because it transmits

electromagnetic power as well as examines the energy returned back
to the target. If the returned signals are received again at the position of
their source, then an obstacle is in the transmission way. This is the
working principle of radar.

9. The RADAR system generally con sists of a transmitter that

produces an electromagnetic signal which is radiated into space by an
antenna. When this signal strikes an object, it gets reflected or
reradiated in many directions. This reflected or echo signal is received
by the radar antenna which delivers it to the receiver, where it is
processed to determine the geographical statistics of the object. The
range is determined by calculating the time taken by the signal to travel
from the RADAR to the target and back. The target’s location is
measured in angle, from the direction of the maximum amplitude echo

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signal, the antenna points to. To measure the range and location of
moving objects, the Doppler Effect is used.

10. The essential parts of this system include the following:

a. A Transmitter. It can be a power amplifier like a Klystron, Travelling

Wave Tube, or a power Oscillator like a Magnetron. The signal is first
generated using a waveform generator and then amplified in the
power amplifier.

b. Waveguides. The waveguides are transmission lines for

transmission of the RADAR signals.

c. Antenna. The antenna used can be a parabolic reflector, planar

arrays, or erratically steered phased arrays.

d. Duplexer. A duplexer allows the antenna to be used as a transmitter

or a receiver. It can be a gaseous device that would produce a short
circuit at the input to the receiver when the transmitter is working.

e. Receiver. It can be a superheterodyne receiver or any other receiver

which consists of a processor to process the signal and detect it.

f. Threshold Decision. The output of the receiver is compared with a

threshold to detect the presence of any object. If the output is below
any threshold, the presence of noise is assumed.

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TYPES OF RADAR
11. There are different types of radars which include the following:

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a. Bistatic Radar. This type of radar system includes a Tx-transmitter &

an Rx- receiver that is divided through a distance that is equivalent to
the distance of the estimated object. The transmitter & the receiver
are situated at a similar position is called a monastic radar whereas
the very long-range surface to air & air to air military hardware uses
the bistatic radar.

b. Doppler Radar. It is a special type of radar that uses the Doppler

Effect to generate data velocity regarding a target at a particular
distance. This can be obtained by transmitting electromagnetic
signals in the direction of an object so that it analyzes how the action
of the object has affected the returned signal’s frequency.This change
will give very precise measurements for the radial component of an
object’s velocity within relation toward the radar. The applications of
these radars involve different industries like meteorology, aviation,
healthcare, etc.

c. Monopulse Radar. This kind of radar system compares the obtained

signal using a particular radar pulse next to it by contrasting the
signal as observed in numerous directions otherwise polarizations.
The most frequent type of monopulse radar is the conical scanning
radar. This kind of radar evaluates the return from two ways to
measure the position of the object directly. It is significant to note that
the radars which are developed in the year 1960 are monopulse
radars.

d. Passive Radar. This kind of radar is mainly designed to notice as well

as follow the targets through processing indications from illumination
within the surroundings. These sources comprise communication
signals as well as commercial broadcasts. The categorization of this
radar can be done in the same category of bistatic radar.

e. Instrumentation Radar. These radars are designed for testing aircraft,

missiles, rockets, etc. They give different information including space,
position, and time both in the analysis of post-processing & real-time.

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f. Weather Radars. These are used to detect the direction and weather
by using radio signals through circular or horizontal polarization. The
frequency choice of weather radar mainly depends on a compromise
of performance among attenuation as well as precipitation refection
as an outcome of atmospheric water steam. Some types of radars
are mainly designed to employ Doppler shifts to calculate the wind
speed as well as dual-polarization to recognize the types of rainfall.

g. Mapping Radar. These radars are mainly used to examine a large

geographical area for the applications of remote sensing &
geography. As a result of synthetic aperture radar, these are
restricted to quite stationary targets. There are some particular radar
systems used to detect humans after walls that are more different as
compared with the ones found within construction materials.

h. Navigational Radars. Generally, these are the same to search radars

but, they available with small wavelengths that are capable of
replicating from the ground & from stones. These are commonly used
on commercial ships as well as long-distance airplanes. There are
different navigational radars like marine radars which are placed
commonly on ships to avoid a collision as well as navigational
purposes.

i. Pulsed RADAR. Pulsed RADAR sends high power and high-

frequency pulses towards the target object. It then waits for the echo
signal from the object before another pulse is sent. The range and
resolution of the RADAR depend on the pulse repetition frequency. It
uses the Doppler shift method.The principle of RADAR detecting
moving objects using the Doppler shift works on the fact that echo
signals from stationary objects are in the same phase and hence get
canceled while echo signals from moving objects will have some
changes in phase. These radars are classified into two types.

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j. Pulse-Doppler. It transmits high pulse repetition frequency to avoid

Doppler ambiguities. The transmitted signal and the received echo
signal are mixed in a detector to get the Doppler shift and the
difference signal is filtered using a Doppler filter where the unwanted
noise signals are rejected.

PHASED ARRAY RADAR

12. In antenna theory, a phased array usually means an electronically

scanned array, a computer-controlled array of antennas which creates a
beam of radio waves that can be electronically steered to point in different
directions without moving the antennas. In a simple array antenna,
the radio frequency current from the transmitter is fed to multiple individual
antenna elements with the proper phase relationship so that the radio
waves from the separate elements combine (superpose) to form beams, to
increase power radiated in desired directions and suppress radiation in
undesired directions. In a phased array, the power from the transmitter is
fed to the radiating elements through devices called phase shifters,
controlled by a computer system, which can alter the phase or signal delay
electronically, thus steering the beam of radio waves to a different direction.
Since the size of an antenna array must extend many wavelengths to
achieve the high gain needed for narrow beamwidth, phased arrays are
mainly practical at the high frequency end of the radio spectrum, in
the UHF and microwave bands, in which the operating are conveniently
small.

13. General concept of a phased-array antenna that electronically

combines element patterns to point the radar beam in a particular direction.
(a) The antenna uses phase shifters to steer the radar beam
electronically over the scan sector. The radio-frequency (RF) source
produces a radar waveform that is divided up into individual paths

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called element channels, each containing a phase shifter and

amplifier.
b) An idealized radiation pattern from a single antenna element
covers the scan sector, with signal strength dropping outside of the
sector.
(c) When all the phase shifters of the array are properly aligned,
the array produces a main beam in the desired pointing direction.

PASSIVE ELECTRICALLY SCANNED ARRAY PHASES RADAR (PESA)

General
14. A passive electronically scanned array (PESA), also known
as passive phased array, is an antenna in which the beam of radio waves
can be electronically steered to point in different directions (that is,
a phased array antenna), in which all the antenna elements are connected
to a single transmitter (such as a magnetron, a klystron or a travelling wave
tube) and/or receiver. The largest use of phased arrays is in radars. Most
phased array radars in the world are PESA. The civilian microwave landing
system uses PESA transmit-only arrays.

15. A PESA contrasts with an active electronically scanned array (AESA)

antenna, which has a separate transmitter and/or receiver unit for each
antenna element, all controlled by a computer; AESA is a more advanced,
sophisticated versatile second-generation version of the original PESA
phased array technology. Hybrids of the two can also be found, consisting
of subarrays that individually resemble PESAs, where each subarray has
its own RF front end. Using a hybrid approach, the benefits of AESAs (e.g.,
multiple independent beams) can be realized at a lower cost compared to
true AESAs.

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History

16. Starting in the 1960s new solid-state devices capable of delaying the

transmitter signal in a controlled way were introduced. That led to the first
practical large-scale passive electronically scanned array, or simply phased
array radar. PESAs took a signal from a single source, split it into hundreds
of paths, selectively delayed some of them, and sent them to individual
antennas. The radio signals from the separate antennas overlapped in
space, and the interference patterns between the individual signals was
controlled to reinforce the signal in certain directions, and mute it in all
others. The delays could be easily controlled electronically, allowing the
beam to be steered very quickly without moving the antenna. A PESA can
scan a volume of space much quicker than a traditional mechanical
system. Thanks to progress in electronics, PESAs added the ability to
produce several active beams, allowing them to continue scanning the sky
while at the same time focusing smaller beams on certain targets for
tracking or guiding semi-active radar homing missiles. PESAs quickly
became widespread on ships and large fixed emplacements in the 1960s,
followed by airborne sensors as the electronics shrank.

Working principle

17. Pulsed radar systems work by connecting an antenna to a powerful

radio transmitter to emit a short pulse of signal. The transmitter is then
disconnected and the antenna is connected to a sensitive receiver which
amplifies any echos from target objects. By measuring the time it takes for
the signal to return, the radar receiver can determine the distance to the
object. The receiver then sends the resulting output to a display of some
sort. The transmitter elements were typically klystron tubes or magnetrons,
which are suitable for amplifying or generating a narrow range of

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frequencies to high power levels. To scan a portion of the sky, the radar
antenna must be physically moved to point in different directions.

ACTIVE ELECTRICALLY SCANNED ARRAY PHASES RADAR (AESA)

History

18. Bell Labs proposed replacing the Nike Zeus radars with a phased

array system in 1960, and was given the go-ahead for development in
June 1961. The result was the Zeus Multi-function Array Radar (ZMAR),
an early example of an active electronically steered array radar system.
[1]
 ZMAR became MAR when the Zeus program ended in favor of
the Nike-X system in 1963. The MAR (Multi-function Array Radar) was
made of a large number of small antennas, each one connected to a
separate computer-controlled transmitter or receiver. Using a variety
of beamforming and signal processing steps, a single MAR was able to
perform long-distance detection, track generation, discrimination of
warheads from decoys, and tracking of the outbound interceptor
missiles.[2]

19. MAR allowed the entire battle over a wide space to be controlled
from a single site. Each MAR, and its associated battle center, would
process tracks for hundreds of targets. The system would then select
the most appropriate battery for each one, and hand off particular
targets for them to attack. One battery would normally be associated
with the MAR, while others would be distributed around it. Remote
batteries were equipped with a much simpler radar whose primary
purpose was to track the outgoing Sprint missiles before they became
visible to the potentially distant MAR. These smaller Missile Site Radars
(MSR) were passively scanned, forming only a single beam instead of
the MAR's multiple beams. [2]

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20. While MAR was ultimately successful, the cost of the system was
enormous. When the ABM problem became so complex that even a
system like MAR could no longer deal with realistic attack scenarios, the
Nike-X concept was abandoned in favor of much simpler concepts like
the Sentinel program, which did not use MAR. A second example, MAR-
II, was abandoned in-place on Kwajalein Atoll.[3]

The first Soviet APAR, the 5N65, was developed in 1963-1965 as a part

of the S-225 ABM system. After some modifications in the system
concept in 1967 it was built at Sary Shagan Test Range in 1970-1971
and nicknamed Flat Twin in the West. Four years later another radar of
this design was built on Kura Test Range, while the S-225 system was
never commissioned. [

a. The first airborne series production AESA was the  EL/M-

2075 Phalcon on a Boeing 707 of the Chilean Air Force that entered
service in 1994.

b. The first AESA on a combat aircraft was the J/APG-1 introduced

on the Mitsubishi F-2 in 1995.[5]

c. The first AESA on a missile is the seeker head for the AAM-4B,

an air-to-air missile carried by the Mitsubishi F-2 and Mitsubishi-
built McDonnell-Douglas F-15J. [5]

US based manufacturers of the AESA radars used in the F-22 and

Super Hornet include Northrop Grumman [6] and Raytheon.[7] These
companies also design, develop and manufacture the transmit/receive
modules which comprise the 'building blocks' of an AESA radar. The
requisite electronics technology was developed in-house via Department
of Defense research programs such as MMIC Program.[8][9] In 2016 the
Congress funded a military industry competition to produce new radars
for two dozen National Guard fighter aircraft.

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21. Advantages of AESA .

a. Resistance to Electronic Jamming . One of the major advantages

of an AESA system its high degree of resistance to electronic
jamming techniques. Radar jamming is usually done by
determining the frequency at which an enemy radar is
broadcasting and then transmitting a signal at that same frequency
to confuse it. Over time, engineers developed a way to counteract
this form of jamming by designing radar systems which could
change their frequency with each pulse. But as radar advanced, so
did jamming techniques. In addition to changing frequencies,
AESA systems can distribute frequencies across a wide band,
even within individual pulses, a radar technique called “chirping”.
This combination of traits makes it much harder to jam an AESA
system than other forms of radar.

b. Low Interception . AESA systems also have a low probability of

intercept by an enemy radar warning receiver (RWR). An RWR
allows an aircraft or vehicle to determine when a radar beam from
an outside source has struck it. In doing so, it can also determine
the beam’s point of origin, and thus, the enemy’s position. AESA
systems are highly effective in overcoming RWRs. Because the
“chirps” mentioned above change frequency so rapidly, and in a
totally random sequence, it becomes very difficult for an RWR to
tell whether the AESA radar beam is, in fact, a radar signal at all,
or just part of the ambient “white noise” radio signals found all over
the world.

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c. Increased Reliability . Yet another benefit of using AESA systems

is that each module operates independently, so a failure in a single
module will not have any significant effect on overall system
performance. AESA technology can also be used to create high-
bandwidth data links between aircraft and other equipped systems.
d. Multi-Mode Capability . This radar technology also supports
multiple modes that allow the system to take on a wide variety of
tasks including Real beam mapping, Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR) mapping, Sea surface search, Ground moving target
indication and tracking and Air-to-air search and track.

22. Disadvantage. The AESA radar is generally considered the most

innovative and technologically-advanced type of tactical radar system. That
being said, it does have one notable disadvantage — its limited field of
view (FOV). Currently, the maximum FOV for a standard flat phased AESA
antenna is between 90 and 120 degrees. But, by combining mechanical
movement with the system, the limited AESA radar range can be vastly
increased.

Comparison Between AESA and PESA Radar

23.

AESA PESA

a. With AESA radar technology, a. A PESA radar takes one

radio waves can be sent out
at different frequencies in
multiple directions at the
same time without moving
any antennas.
b. by scanning at different
frequencies, it brings back
more valuable information to
its user.
signal at a single frequency
and splits it between different
strategically placed antennas
to maximize its range and
strength.
b. as the beams of radio waves
it puts out are broad and
cannot give the most precise
location information back.

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c. radio waves can be sent out
at different frequencies in
multiple directions at the
same time without moving
any antennas.
d. Since an AESA radar utilizes
a broader set of frequencies,
it is also much more difficult to
detect among background
radio noise.
e. AESA radars are less likely to
experience system failure,
since they rely on not one, but
dozens of TRMs to transmit
their signals.
f. AESA could be made much
lighter and smaller,
g. AESA systems have multiple
TRMs.
c. it has only one beam, which
means it can send out only
one frequency at a time.
d. A PESA radar takes one
signal at a single frequency.
e. It has only one transmitter, so
there is potential for system
failure due to a single failure
within the transmitter.
f. PESA radar sensors are
typically very large and heavy.
g. A PESA system relies on one
large transmitter.

APPLICATION BASED ON MILITARY PERSPECTIVE

24. Some of the applications of AESA radar are as following:

a. AN/APG-77, for the F-22 Raptor

b. AN/APG-80, for the F-16E/F Desert Falcon
c. AN/APG-81, for the F-35 Lightning II
d. AN/APG-83 SABR, for the F-16V Viper and B-1B Lancer upgrades.
Option for KAI FA-50 Block 20
e. AN/APY-9, for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye

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f. Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA radar), for the Boeing

E-7 Wedgetail (AEW&C) aircraft
g. AN/ASQ-236 Podded AESA Radar
h. AN/ZPY-1 STARLite Small Tactical Radar - Lightweight, for manned
and unmanned aircraft
i. AN/ZPY-2 Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-
RTIP)
j. AN/ZPY-3 Multi-Function Active Sensor (MFAS) for MQ-4C Triton

25. Radars Used in Bangladesh Military.

a. Italian defence giant Leonardo announced that the Bangladesh

Air Force (BAF) selected the KRONOS Land radar system for its
current and emerging air surveillance requirements.Leonardo
announced the sale at the 2019 Bahrain International Defence
Exhibition and Conference. According to an official press release,
Leonardo states that it will supply the radars alongside the
system’s communications equipment, spare parts, training, and
12 months of technical support services.
b. French defence equipment manufacturer Thales, has reportedly
sold two long range air defence radar systems to the Bangladesh
Army to enhance its battlefield surveillance network. According to
La Tribune newspaper, the the French defence electronics
manufacturer signed a contract with Bangladesh to supply two
high-performance long range radar systems known as the
Ground Master 400 (GM400). which have an instrument range
exceeding 500 km.
c. Leonardo has signed a contract with RUAG Aviation, original
equipment manufacturer and type certificate holder of the Dornier
228 aircraft, to provide its Seaspray 5000E Active Electronically
Scanned Array (AESA) radars for the two new production model
Dornier 228 multirole aircraft, recently ordered by the Bangladesh
Navy. The new aircraft will be used to help monitor and protect
Bangladesh's 120,000 square kilometres of maritime territorial

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area and exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

CONCLUSIONS
26. In modern warfare there is no alternative of a strong radar system.
Most of the weapon system throughout the world are radar controlled.
Jamming of the radar means the loss of effectiveness of the shooters.
That is why it is very important to possess the radars which can
effectively deny enemy ECM and has long search or detection range.
At the same time these should be able to perform with highest
accuracy and precision.

27. AESA is the latest variant of radar with the highest possible
advanced technology currently available. This has got many
advantages like Resistance to Electronic Jamming, Multi-Mode
Capability, high reliability, low interception and so one which give it
the recognition of most up to date radar system.

RECOMMENDATIONS
28. Based on the above discussions the recommendations are as
following:
a. AESA radar if incorporated can fill up the gaps between the existing
radar coverage.
b. Can be used to provide early warning.
c. Highly compatible for using with the modern shooters.
d. Aircrafts having AESA radar will make them stealthy.

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