Pakistan has now an eye in the sky
Akhtar Jamal
Islamabad—With the delivery of Sweden’s SAAB AWE&C aircraft Pakistan has gained the capability of having an eye in the sky and advance monitoring system. A formal ceremony on Tuesday will be held to be attended by PAF Chief Air Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman.
Early this month PAF received first of its four Saab-2000 Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft from Sweden. According to an official media release the aircraft landed at one of the PAF’s Main Operating Bases, marking achievement of a major milestone in the overall modernization plan of PAF.
With the induction of Swedish AEW&C system, PAF has become one of the few air forces in the world to have Airborne Early Warning capability. Saab-2000 Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft PAF has boosted its operational capability manifold by achieving requisite early warning for efficient & meaningful Air Defence of its airspace.
According to defence experts Saab 2000 AEW&C is an affordable Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft and key element is the Erieye active phased array side looking surveillance radar which features a detection range of up to 300 km for fighter-sized airborne targets and maritime surveillance mode.
The government of Pakistan and Saab first announced the successful completion of negotiations on June 22, 2006, with the resulting contract, worth approximately SEK6.9 billion, entering into effect in the second quarter of 2006.
Defence experts say that the ERIEYE AEW&C is the world’s only operational airborne Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar in service today. The Saab 2000 ERIEYE AEW&C utilises the latest generation ERIEYE radar, now capable of detecting small air targets, hovering helicopters, cruise missiles and small sea targets such as inflatable rubber boats, for a more complete surveillance picture.
ERIEYE is the first high-performance, long-range Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) system based on active phased-array pulse-Doppler radar.
This new-generation system can be installed in a variety of commercial and military aircraft, including regional jet or turboprop airliners. It meets full AEW&C requirements for detecting and tracking targets at ranges of up to 450 km over land or water. ERIEYE is part of a complete AEW&C system, including radar with integrated Secondary Surveillance Radar / Identification Friend or Foe (SSR/IFF), electronic support measures, communications and data links, comprehensive command-and-control facilities and self-protection system.
The ERIEYE radar, with its fixed electronically scanned antenna and use of adaptive radar control techniques, has superior resolution accuracy. When compared to traditional rotodome-based solutions, it provides enhanced detection and tracking performance, including the active simultaneous tracking of multiple targets. In addition, the radar offers significantly improved resistance to Electronic Counter Measures (ECM).
The state-of-the-art command-and-control system gives the on-board mission-system crew full capability for AEW&C roles as well as maximum flexibility for other peacetime and war missions. ERIEYE is fully interoperable with and easily integrated into NATO Air Defence Command Systems.
The Saab 2000 AEW&C airborne early warning and control aircraft is a variant of the Saab 2000 regional transport turboprop aircraft equipped with the spine-mounted Saab Systems Erieye PS-890 side-looking reconnaissance radar.
The first customer for the Saab 2000 AEW&C, the Pakistan Fiza’ya (the Pakistan Air Force), placed the order on Saab, based in Stockholm, in June 2006. The first of five aircraft was rolled out in April 2008 and is scheduled to enter service in 2009. Thailand announced the selection of the Saab 2000 AEW&C in June 2007.
The aircraft, fully equipped for airborne early warning and control, can also be used for national security missions, border control, airborne command and control, disaster management coordination and for emergency air traffic control.
“The Saab 2000 airborne early warning and control aircraft is a variant of the Saab 2000 regional transport turboprop aircraft.”
The Erieye radar has an instrumental range of 450km and detection range of 350km against a fighter aircraft sized target in dense hostile electronic warfare environments and at low target altitudes. The system is capable of tracking multiple air and sea target over the horizon and provides above 20km altitude coverage, 360° coverage and has sea surveillance capability. The radar incorporates an identification friend or foe interrogator. The system comprises an active phased array pulse Doppler radar with a secondary surveillance radar.
The fixed dual sided electronically scanned antenna array is installed in a rectangular housing, dorsally mounted above the fuselage.
The aircraft’s electronic warfare suite is based on the Saab Avitronics HES-21 electronic support measures (ESM) and self-protection suite. The HES-21 also provides a ground-based support system (EGSS), which provides mission data for the aircraft electronic warfare system and for analysis of recorded data.