Posted on 06/28/2006 7:54:18 AM PDT by MARKUSPRIME
The Navy is fielding a new fighter radar that promises to perform much better and cost less than older systems.
The APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, built by RaytheonOn a conventional radar, an antenna moves back and forth, back and forth then processes information," says Raytheon manager Dave Goold. "The unique difference with AESA is that the antenna itself does not move. [Instead,] you use beams steered by a computer that tells the beams where to go look. With AESA, the antenna follows the processing" instead of vice versa, meaning it’s faster.
Whereas traditional radars rely on a single mechanical antenna, often shaped like a dish, the AESA depends on numerous tiny electronic modules that each emit a radar beam. It's like packing dozens of smart radars into one.
"It gives you much greater range and the ability to track many more targets," Goold continues. "It nearly simultaneously allows you to do ... air-to-air and air-to-ground [modes], so you can take that array and 'split it up', if you will, [saying,] 'I want this portion to do air-to-air and this portion to do air-to-surface'.""AESA is so advanced that we don't even have all the tactics for using it yet," Lennard says. "Our VX [test squadron] guys are flying with it and our Fleet Replacement [training] Squadrons are learning how to teach it."The APG-79 represents a change in the way some militaries think about aircraft. In older generations of planes, the airframe was usually designed first and sensors were added later. But in the Super Hornet, the Air Force's F-22 and the forthcoming multi-service F-35, sensors drove the airframe design.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
Navy BUMP!
AESA radars are the first to abandon the basic design of all radars since World War II.
..AESA
Heard from a Navy technician buddy that within a year or two there will only be Super Hornets on the West Coast, replacing all F-14s and F-18 A/B/C/D planes.
Any truth to that?
....weren't all F-14s taken out of service (active service, at least...) fleetwide earlier this year....?? It would be interesting to see how this new "Super Hornet" would stack up against the Air Force's new (and still trouble-plagued...) F-22 "Raptor" .... I'm sure the F-22 would give that "squid kite" a run for its money....!!
That is my baby the San Jacinto AKA the San Jack, we knew when we had her in the George Washington Battle Group our assets were covered and she was able to hang tough when we had to rush from France to the Gulf, Vice Admrial Redd gave us 3 days. San Jack and Big George where on station in 33 hours minus the one day we sat at the Suez Canal and even saved a Saudi Containment Ship on the way, when their salt water duct blow, damn those were the days.
FWIW...The APG-9 Radar was designed by the old Hughes Acft Co Radar Div in El Segundo Calif.
Raytheon bought the division from Hughes about 10 years ago.
Hughes Radars were always at the cutting edge of phased array technology.
Shipboard radars have done this for quite a while (the program is a b*tch).
I had the privilege of visiting the San Jac when they held an open house at the Port of Houston a few years ago. It was great! "Victory is Certain!"
"The APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, built by RaytheonOn a conventional radar, an antenna moves back and forth, back and forth then processes information," says Raytheon manager Dave Goold. "The unique difference with AESA is that the antenna itself does not move. [Instead,] you use beams steered by a computer that tells the beams where to go look. With AESA, the antenna follows the processing" instead of vice versa, meaning it’s faster."
I thought that the subject of this Naval Aviation technology post would be a good place for a few pictures. It seems that it takes a while for new avionics to make it to the Fleet. Here are a few photos of a Flat-plate antenna technology test-bed that was test flown by my late Father in the late 1969-early 1970 time-frame. The only reason I can remember that he flew this altered F-4J Phantom II (which was borrowed from the US Navy) was his position as the F-4 Class Desk when he had a NAVAIR tour in Crystal City.
This was one of the framed pictures from his collection that I retained. Probably interesting to folks who document the F-4 Phantom II in all of its many variations. Nice to finally see the F-18E/F follow-up...
F-4J test-bed for Flat-plate antenna
McDonnell-Douglas: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: 4th quarter 1969 to 1st quarter 1970
F-4J Flat-plate radar antenna
Close-up via scanner
Of course, micro-processors, memory and VLSI have come a long way in the last 35 years... :-)
dvwjr
IIRC: You use the frequency of the beam to direct the beam.
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