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FJV 5/27/2009 3:43:58 PM

At lower altitudes, the challenge centers on how to liberate modules from the nose of aircraft and insert them along the fuselage, turning the platform into flying, 360degree
radar. So called conformal arrays could be placed on leading or trailing edge of a wing or
on the vertical stabilizer, said Barry Alexia, business development executive at Raytheon

Space and Airborne Systems? Advanced Concept Technology group.

There are in my opinion other benfits in distributing AESA radar modules on a plane that are not mentioned here.

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Herald12345 5/27/2009 3:54:41 PM

At lower altitudes, the challenge centers on how to liberate modules from the nose of aircraft and insert them along the fuselage, turning the platform into flying, 360degree

radar. So called conformal arrays could be placed on leading or trailing edge of a wing or

on the vertical stabilizer, said Barry Alexia, business development executive at Raytheon

Space and Airborne Systems? Advanced Concept Technology group.

There are in my opinion other benfits in distributing AESA radar modules on a plane that are not mentioned here.

You have interference and heat problems to solve.

Herald

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Phaid 5/27/2009 4:04:41 PM

Yup:

Additional, distributed T/R modules obviously expand the radar's field of view, which is nice in and of itself. It also allows all of the other functions of the radar to function more flexibly: sending midcourse updates to AMRAAMs, high speed datalinks, EW, etc.

Having said that, as Herald points out there are challenges to overcome with this approach. Running cooling lines, power and data buses all over the airplane, and dealing with the LO effects of so many more radar-transparent apertures is not a trivial problem. I suspect this is a case where it is a lot more space and weight efficient to concentrate modules in one place, like the nose or maybe a tail stinger, rather than e.g. all along the leading edge of a wing. Notice that the F-22 concept above locates the arrays in the "cheeks" rather than along an airfoil edge.

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DarthAmerica FJV reply 5/27/2009 4:09:17 PM

Similar in concept to...

...of course without all the magic powers...;)

-DA

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FJV You have interference and heat problems to solve. 5/27/2009 4:30:10 PM

They are working on it.

From the same source:

?Size and weight become an issue as does the development of algorithms that can
compensate for the shape of the arrays on the aircraft,? he said. ?The challenge is also to
join the information received by different arrays seamlessly.?
The next step, known as structurally integrated arrays, involves placing arrays as part of
the fuselage itself.

An EADS official said the European group is also looking into such arrays, adding that
the work is prompting a look at other materials than gallium arsenide, currently the

standard semiconductor material for AESA radar.

?Gallium nitride, which needs less cooling, could be used for one centimeter cubed
modules integrated into the body of the platform,? he said.
Gallium nitride is jousting with other potential candidates such as silicon carbide and
silicon germanium to become the next big thing in AESA. The substance was first

developed in the late 1980s for use in LED displays, given its ability to emit blue light,

and today it features in Sony?s Playstation.

But radar builders have hitherto stuck with the easier to grow gallium arsenide for
semiconductor use in modules, despite nitride?s potential to offer five times more power
density, said an official at the U.K.?s Qinetiq, which is researching the material.
?That does not mean five times more range, but it does mean we can shrink the size and
the weight of the module by that magnitude, which allows you to put the radar on a

smaller platform,? he said.

Colin Humphrey, director of the Cambridge University Centre for Gallium Nitride, had
few doubts. ?Compared to gallium arsenide, gallium nitride generates more power, can operate at
higher frequencies, survive temperatures 100 centigrade higher and is less susceptible to
cosmic rays and other radiation,? he said. ?

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FJV More similar in concep to 5/27/2009 4:32:34 PM

Imagine the entire leading edge of a jet fighter's wing to be a Radar.

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DarthAmerica 5/27/2009 4:36:42 PM

It's definitely something worth looking into. All indications are that this will develop into a mature technology at some point next decade. You know that radar display in the corner of the more arcade like flight sims that give you a 360 degree FOV? May be closer to reality than not...

-DA

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Herald12345 Ex post facto. 5/27/2009 4:41:58 PM

Imagine the entire leading edge of a jet fighter's wing to be a Radar.

Herald

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ArtyEngineer DA 5/27/2009 4:52:51 PM

-DA

Having had a play in Lockmarts travelling F35 simulator at last years National Gaurd convention I can tell you that this is indeed the case. The large multifunctional displays can indeed be configured to provide situational awareness of the battle space in a very similar manner to the "Radar" display found in most Arcade like flight sims.

Here is pic of F35 Cockpit:

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ArtyEngineer Better pic 5/27/2009 5:05:30 PM

Here is a pic showing the display configured as I mentioned:

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