Zhuk
Zhuk-ME Antenna at MAKS 2007
|
Country of origin |
Russia |
Type |
Slotted Planar/PESA/AESA |
Range |
90 to 200 km, depending on variant |
The
Zhuk are a family of Russian (former USSR) all-weather multimode airborne
radars developed by NIIR
Phazotron for multi-role combat aircraft such as the
MiG-29 and the
Su-27. The latest versions are also known as the
Sokol.
Description
The Zhuk (Beetle) family of
X-band Pulse-Doppler
radars provide aircraft with two modes of operation, air to air and air
to surface. The air to air mode of the Zhuk is capable of detecting
targets and measuring their coordinates, range and speed.
[1]
The radar has a look-down/shoot-down capability for air targets against
a cluttered or water background and a variety of search modes are
available. Individual targets can be tracked or multiple targets can be
tracked and engaged at once while searching for new targets in
track-while-scan mode.
[1]
The Zhuk radar can identify detected targets by class and prioritise
multiple targets for engagement. A variety of close combat scanning
modes are featured including vertical scan, HUD view, boresight and
slewable are available as well as locking onto a visually acquired
target.
[1] The Zhuk radar also offers the ability to track and engage helicopters even when they are hovering.
[1] The Zhuk is compatible with a variety of air to air weapons including the radar guided
R-77 and
R-27 missiles to which it can provide targeting, target brightening and radio adjustment.
[1] The radar is compatible with optically guided missiles like the
R-73 and can also provide fire control for aircraft cannon.
In the air to surface mode the N010 radar offers a mapping capability using either
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR), real beam or doppler beam narrowing modes with a resolution of up to 3x3m with zooming and image freezing functions.
[1]
The radar can detect and track with measurement of range and speed both
moving and static ground and naval targets. The Zhuk radar can support
low altitude terrain following flying and can also detect dangerous
weather patterns during flight. The radar is compatible with a variety
of air to surface weaponry including
Kh-29 air to surface missiles as well as
Kh-31 anti-radiation missiles.
[1]
The Zhuk radar is modular in design with older variants of the radar
such as the Zhuk-M and Zhuk-MS capable of being upgraded to the latest
Zhuk-A standard.
Variants
Zhuk
The Zhuk radar was first tested in 1986 for installation on the
MiG-29M fighter upgrade and was also proposed as a radar upgrade for the
MiG-23
fighter. The original Zhuk radar was only really capable of air to air
combat and never made it into service with the Russian armed forces due
to the cancellation of the MiG-29M upgrade program.
[2] The Zhuk has a weight of 220 kg and uses a 680mm electronically scanned slotted
planar array antenna which offers a detection range of 90 km against a target with a 5 m
2 radar cross-section
(RCS). The radar can track 10-12 targets while engaging 2-4 of them
with a scanning area of +/- 90 degrees in azimuth and +55/-40 degrees in
elevation;
[3] its power output was rated at 5 kW peak.
[4]
Zhuk-8-II
An export variant of the Zhuk radar developed for the
Shenyang F-8-II Finback-B with similar performance to the Zhuk radar, only with a slightly increased weight of 240 kg.
[3]
Zhuk-27
Designed for the
Su-27
but with similar tracking and scanning performance to the Zhuk radar.
The Zhuk-27 weighed slightly more than the Zhuk at 260 kg but had a
superior detection range of 130 km vs a 5 m
2 RCS target.
[3]
Zhuk-M (Export Designation Zhuk-ME)
The N010M Zhuk-M is an advanced variant of the original N010 Zhuk
radar introducing advanced air to surface functions like mapping and
terrain following. The radar forms part of the MiG-29SMT upgrade, the
Zhuk-ME finding success on export MiG-29 aircraft to countries like
India. The radar features improved signal processing and has a detection
range of up to 120 km vs a 5 m
2 RCS target for the export variant, and up to 10 targets tracked and up to 4 attacked at once in air to air mode.
[5]
The tracking range is 0.83 - 0.85 of the detection range. In air to
surface mode the radar can detect a tank from up to 25 km away and a
bridge from 120 km away, a naval destroyer could be detected up to
300 km away and up to two surface targets can be tracked at once. The
radar has a weight of 220 kg and a scanning area of +/- 85 degrees in
azimuth and +56/-40 degrees in elevation. The antenna is an
electronically scanned slotted planar array and has a diameter of
624 mm.
[5]
Zhuk-MS (Export Designation Zhuk-MSE)
Zhuk-M radar developed for the Su-27 and its derivatives, the export
Zhuk-MSE is suggested as being exported to China for use in PLAAF
Su-30MKK
aircraft. The antenna is an electronically scanned slotted planar array
and has a diameter of 960 mm with a peak output of 6 kW. The Zhuk-MSE
offers detection performance up to 190 km vs a 5 m
2 RCS
target with up to 10 targets tracked and up to 4 attacked at once in air
to air mode. In air to surface mode the radar offers a modest 5 km
detection range improvement over the Zhuk-M vs tanks. The radar has a
weight of 255 kg and a scanning area of +/- 85 degrees in azimuth and
+56/-40 degrees in elevation.
[5]
Zhuk-F
An original Zhuk radar featuring a
passive electronically scanned array
(PESA) antenna instead of a slotted planar array, the radar never made
it into service or out of development despite being offered for export.
Designed for the Su-27 the Zhuk-F had a 130–200 km detection range vs a 5
m
2 RCS target with up to 24 targets tracked and up to 8
engaged. The radar had a weight of 300 kg and a scanning area of +/- 70
degrees in elevation and azimuth.
[3]
Zhuk-MF (Export Designation Zhuk-MFE)
Upgrade of the Zhuk-M radar featuring a 700 mm PESA antenna. The Zhuk-MFE offers detection performance up to 110 km vs a 5 m
2
RCS target with up to 20 targets tracked and up to 4 attacked at once
in air to air mode. In air to surface mode the radar offers the same
functionality as the Zhuk-M. The radar has a weight of 285 kg and a
scanning area of +/- 70 degrees in azimuth and elevation.
[5]
Zhuk-MFS (Export Designation Zhuk-MFSE)
Upgrade of the Zhuk-M radar, the Zhuk-MFS offers detection performance up to 180 km vs a 5 m
2
RCS target with up to 30 targets tracked and up to 6 attacked at once
in air to air mode. In air to surface mode the radar offers a modest
5 km detection range improvement over the Zhuk-M vs tanks. The radar has
a weight of 305 kg and a scanning area of +/- 70 degrees in azimuth and
elevation.
[5] The radar uses a PESA antenna, which has a diameter of 980 mm with a peak power output of 8 kW
[4] with 16 carrier frequencies. The Zhuk-MFS(E) has been offered as an alternative radar for the
MiG-31 interceptor as opposed to the standard
N007 Zaslon radar.
[6]
Zhuk-A (Export Designation Zhuk-AE)
The latest incarnation of the Zhuk radar family featuring an
Active Electronically Scanned Array
(AESA). The radar uses 680 4 channel transceiver modules with a power
output of 5 watts per channel. The radar is stated to provide a
detection range of 130 km for a head on target with up to 30 targets
tracked and 6 of those engaged at any one time. As an AESA the radar is
liquid cooled, with each transceiver capable of being switched off to
prevent damage from overheating and switched on again when cooled. Two
variants of the Zhuk-A exist: the FGA-29, and the follow on FGA-35 which
will boast an improved detection range of 200 km with 60 targets
tracked, the radar will also support a maximum mapping resolution of
1x1m in air to surface mode. The FGA-35 will feature a 700 mm antenna
with an increased number of transmit and receive modules to between
1000-1,100, a 20 degree incline and a peak power of 6 kW.
[7][citation needed]
See also
No comments:
Post a Comment