Unexpected surveillance range of Russian and American fighter jet radars.
Despite being considered to have a much lower surveillance range compared to American aircraft due to the presence of the pitot tube, the MiG-31 can now observe twice as far as the F-22.
This remarkable achievement is based on the PESA radar technology on the Russian MiG-31 fighter jet and the AESA radar on the US Air Force's F-22 stealth fighter.
PESA (Passive Electronically Scanned Array) radar consists of a signal source emitting at a single frequency, after which the energy is transferred to various emitting elements on the front of the antenna.
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| F-22 fighter jets fly alongside F-15s. |
PESA radar systems work by connecting an antenna to a very powerful radio transmitter to emit a short pulse of signal. These antennas are connected to a highly sensitive receiver to amplify the signal reflected back from the target.
The primary advantage of PESA radar is its ability to monitor a much larger area than traditional mechanically scanned radars. The PESA radar's microprocessor continuously generates sub-beams, allowing for tracking while scanning. It can also focus a small beam onto a specific target to guide missiles using semi-active radar homing.
Another advantage of PESA radar is its relatively long search range and the ability to detect a relatively large number of targets simultaneously. In addition, PESA radar is quite simple to manufacture and use. One of the world's first PESA radars, the Zalson, equipped on the MiG-31 fighter jet, had a target search range of up to 400 km.
Meanwhile, AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) is an active electronically scanned array radar. This type of radar is capable of transmitting and receiving separate radio waves from interference modules on the antenna. The elements on the AESA radar antenna can change frequency 1,000 times per second.
The emitted beams do not operate at a fixed frequency, making them very difficult to detect. This is one of the key features for application in stealth aircraft. Thanks to the independent transmit/receive elements on the antenna, AESA radars have very high accuracy in detecting and tracking targets.
AESA radars can detect targets with very small radar cross-sections (RCS). Furthermore, they can concentrate their radar signature to overload enemy electronic reconnaissance systems. This allows AESA radars to function as microwave weapons.
Independent transmit/receive modules also allow AESA radars to detect and track many targets simultaneously. Because they do not focus on a specific frequency, AESA radars are very difficult to jam. AESA radars are considered a benchmark for modern fighter aircraft.
AESA is a hot technology that world powers are competing to develop. The United States and Israel are the two countries that have achieved the most success in this area.
Currently, the AN/APG-77 equipped on the F-22 fighter jet is one of the best AESA radars in the world. However, the maximum observation range of this radar system is only 200-250 km, while the Zalson PESA radar on the MiG-31 has a target search range of up to 400 km.
