Erieye radar
The Erieye radar system, is an Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C) developed by Saab Microwave Systems (formerly Ericsson Microwave Systems) of Sweden. It is based on the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA). The Erieye is used on a variety of aircraft platforms, such as the Brazilian Embraer E-99 or EMB-145. It has recently been implemented on the Saab 2000 aircraft.
The Erieye Ground Interface Segment (EGIS; not to be confused with the Aegis combat system) is a major component of the software used by the Erieye system.
The radar provides 300 degree coverage and has an instrumental range of 450km and detection range of 350 km in a dense hostile electronic warfare environment—in heavy radar clutter and at low target altitudes. In addition to this, the radar is also capable of identifying friends or foes, and has a sea surveillance mode.
The Erieye system has full interoperability with NATO air defence command and control systems.
Sweden has loaned two of these systems to Greece, while they are still owned by the Swedish Air Force. SAAB signed an 8 billion kronor provisional contract to supply 6 of these systems to Pakistan, which was finalized in June 2006 at four aircraft, one of which has been delivered to date.
Recently, Royal Thai Air Force signed the contact to order an Erieye system equipped on Saab 340 and has the option to order another system. This order is a part of Gripen order.
Design
The Erieye AEW&C mission system radar is an active, phased-array, pulse-Doppler sensor that can feed an onboard operator architecture or downlink data (via an associated datalink subsystem) to a ground-based air defence network. The system employs a large aperture, dual-sided antenna array housed in a dorsal 'plank' fairing. The antenna is fixed, and the beam is electronically scanned, which provides for improved detection and significantly enhanced tracking performance compared with radar-dome antenna systems. Erieye detects and tracks air and sea targets out to the horizon (and beyond due to anomalous propagation) —instrumented range has been measured at 450 km. Typical detection range against fighter-sized targets is approximately 425 km, in a 150° broadside sector, both sides of the aircraft. Outside these sectors, performance is reduced in forward and aft directions.
Other system features include: Adaptive waveform generation (including digital, phase-coded pulse compression); Signal processing and target tracking; Track While Scan (TWS); Low sidelobe values (throughout the system's angular coverage); Low- and medium-pulse repetition frequency operating modes; Frequency agility; Air-to-air and sea surveillance modes; and Target radar cross-section display.
The radar operates as a medium- to high-PRF pulse-Doppler, solid-state radar, in E/F-band (3 GHz), incorporating 192 two-way transmit/receive modules that combine to produce a pencil beam, steered as required within the operating 150° sector each side of the aircraft (one side at a time). It is understood that Erieye has some ability to detect aircraft in the 30° sectors fore and aft of the aircraft heading, but has no track capability in this sector.
Country of origin Sweden.
Introduced 1996.
Type Multi-mode active electronically scanned
array (AESA) pulse doppler radar.
Frequency S-band.
Range 450 km.
Altitude > 20 km (> 65,000 ft).
Azimuth 150° to each side.
Phalcon
The IAI EL/M-2075 Phalcon is an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) radar system developed by Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Elta Electronics Industries of Israel. Its primary objective is to provide intelligence to maintain air superiority and conduct surveillance. According to the Federation of American Scientists in a 2009 article, the Phalcon was the most advanced AEW&C system in the world.
The system is currently in-service with four countries — Israel, India, Chile and Singapore.
Phalcon, as the complete AEW mission suite is referred to, is intended for airborne early warning, tactical surveillance of airborne and surface targets and intelligence gathering. It also integrates the command and control capabilities needed to employ this information. The array consists of 768 liquid-cooled, solid-state transmitting and receiving elements, each of which is weighted in phase and amplitude. These elements are driven by individual modules and every eight modules are connected to a transmit/receive group. Groups of 16 of these eight module batches are linked back to what is described as a prereceive/transmit unit, and a central six-way control is used to switch the pre-transmit/receive units of the different arrays on a time division basis.Each array scans a given azimuth sector, providing a total coverage of 360°. Scanning is carried out electronically in both azimuth and elevation. Radar modes include high PRF search and full track, track-while-scan, a slow scan detection mode for hovering and low-speed helicopters (using rotor blade returns) and a low PRF ship detection mode.
Phalcon uses the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA), an active phased array radar. This radar consists of an array transmit/receive (T/R) modules that allow a beam to be electronically steered. AESA radars operate on a pseudorandom set of frequencies and also have very short scanning rates, which makes them difficult to detect and jam. Up to 100 targets can be tracked simultaneously to a range of 200 nm (370 km), while at the same time, over a dozen air-to-air interception or air-to-ground attack can be guided. The radar can be mounted on the an aircraft's fuselage or on the top inside a small dome. Either position gives the radar 360 degree coverage. The phased array radar allows positions of aircraft on operator screens to be updated every 2-4 seconds.
It is considered to be the best AEW&C system in the world.
