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 India
declared that Active Electronically Steered Array ( AESA) radar
technology will be a "must have" item for every MRCA
contender. This requirement excited both aircraft and radar
manufacturers, creating some odd combinations. One such combination
is the rumored alliance between RAC-MIG and Israel Aerospace
industries' Elta Systems, developing a more advanced, powerful
AESA radar that could be fitted into the MiG-35,
as well as to future Indian fighters. While Russia is offering
the Zhuk AE
AESA radar for the MiG-35, the main advantage of the Israeli
system could be its openness - Elta has not committed the radar
to a specific platform, and therefore, India could gain access
to the system's programming code which is another requirement
that some companies, particularly from the U.S., could find
difficult to provide.
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| AESA radars offer significant
gains in reliability. By focusing power at specific directions,
the pilot can gain more detection range providing "first
detect" for air-to-air engagements, enabling first shoot/first
kill by missiles fired Beyond Visual Range (BVR) mode. The longer
standoff range also allows more time for persistent target observation,
information sharing, tactical analysis and commander assessment
before critical decisions are made.
 AESA
radars are emitting not only radar signals, but can also be
employed for non traditional ISR, as well as electronic attack.
For example, some of the elements can transmit and receive signals
modulated with datalink waveform, transferring large amounts
of data (such as live video or aerial imagery) over high bandwidth
datalinks. Similar techniques can be used for electronic attack,
to jam or deceive electronic systems operated by enemy forces.
The mechanical scanning systems used in previous systems were
prone to failures, which grounded the entire aircraft. The new
systems use solid-state technology and electronic scanning,
to replace the mechanical systems but also introduce multiple
elements to replace the single channel design of previous systems.
Therefore, AESA radars can sustain certain degree of failure
without grounding the aircraft or disabling the entire radar
system. Furthermore, when designed with modular approach, AESA
radars can be gradually upgraded, by replacing the solid-state
receive/transmit modules based on Gallium-arsenide semiconductors
technology with more advanced elements, thus significantly improving
performance.
Our report will cover the following topics:
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