January 5, 2006: Israel is doubling the power of its Green Pine AESA radar. Used for the Arrow anti-missile system, this is an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar that consists of thousands of tiny radars that can be independently aimed in different directions. This makes it possible, for a sufficiently powerful AESA radar, to focus enough energy to damage aircraft or missiles. The U.S. has already been doing this with the high-powered microwave (HPM) effects generated by in AESA radars used in F14, F35 and F22 aircraft.
AESA type radars have been around a long time, popular mainly for their ability deal with lots of targets simultaneously. But AESA is also able to focus a concentrated beam of radio energy that could scramble electronic components of a distant target. Sort of like the EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) put out by nuclear weapons. AESA has demonstrated that it can disable missiles and aircraft. Ballistic missiles are another story, as they are sturdier (to handle re-entry stress) and have fewer electronics to mess with. Israel is believed to be working on making its more powerful Green Pine radar capable to zapping rockets, shells and aircraft.
