Unexpected surveillance range of Russian and American fighter radar
Although it is considered to have a much lower surveillance range than US aircraft with pitot tubes, the MiG-31 can currently see twice as far as the F-22.
This miracle is based on PESA radar technology on the Russian MiG-31 fighter and AESA radar on the US Air Force's F-22 stealth fighter.
PESA (Passive Electronically Scanned Array) radar consists of a signal source that broadcasts at a single frequency, the energy of which is then transmitted to different emitting elements on the front of the antenna.
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| F-22 fighter jets flying with F-15s. |
The PESA radar system works by connecting an antenna to a very powerful radio transmitter that sends out a short pulse of signal. These antennas are connected to highly sensitive receivers that amplify the signal that bounces back from the target.
The main advantage of the PESA radar is that it can monitor a much larger area than a traditional mechanically scanned radar. The PESA radar's microprocessor continuously generates sub-beams, allowing it to track while scanning. It can also focus a small beam on a specific target to guide missiles using semi-active radar to attack.
Another advantage of the PESA radar is that the search range is relatively long, and the number of targets that can be detected at the same time is relatively large. In addition, the PESA radar is quite simple to manufacture and use. One of the first PESA radars in the world equipped with the MiG-31 fighter is the Zalson, which has 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/receiving separate radio waves from interference modules on the antenna. The elements on the AESA radar antenna can change frequency 1,000 times/second.
The emitted beams do not operate at a fixed frequency, making them very difficult to detect. This is one of the important features for stealth aircraft. Thanks to the independent transmitter/receiver 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 section (RCS). In addition, they can concentrate their emission sources to overload enemy electromagnetic reconnaissance systems. This makes AESA radars play the role of microwave weapons.
Independent transmitter/receiver modules also allow AESA radars to detect and track multiple targets simultaneously. Because they do not focus on a specific frequency, AESA radars are very difficult to jam. AESA radars are considered a standard for modern fighter aircraft.
AESA is a hot technology that the world's superpowers are racing to develop. Of these, the US and Israel are the two countries with the most achievements.
Currently, the AN/APG-77 equipped on the F-22 fighter is one of the best AESA radars in the world. However, the maximum observation range of this radar system is only 200-250km, while the PESA radar on the MiG-31 is Zalson with a target search range of up to 400km.
