Due to the wide operating frequency range of the Zhuk-AME airborne radar, as well as an advanced signal converter, it is possible to implement a bistatic mode of detecting and tracking surface and ground targets. This mode consists in the fact that one of two or more MiG-29S fighters equipped with this radar turns on and starts the process of scanning the space, and another similar flight vehicle activates the passive mode of operation of the Zhuk-AME station and receives the signal reflected from the target. those. the transmitting and receiving posts can be separated in space by a certain distance. At the same time, in the navigation system of each fighter, thanks to the presence of devices with radio channels for exchanging tactical information, the coordinates of friendly vehicles are clearly tracked. Comparing the data on the power of the emitted and reflected signal with the distances to the target of the emitting and receiving the reflected signal of fighters, the on-board computer of each side can determine the distance to the target, its speed, etc. The bistatic mode can be combined with the synthetic aperture mode and selection of moving sea / ground targets (SDNTs, eng. GMTI), due to which fighters with off-board radars can classify the type of surface / ground or air combat unit only due to the active operation of one radar as a whole link.
Moreover, the bistatic mode provides the ability to determine the direction to the ground / air enemy in a passive mode based on reflected radio signals from completely third-party radiation sources, including even ground and air-based enemy radars. The disadvantage of this method will be the impossibility of calculating the distance and speed to the object, since from the known parameters there will be only the elevation and azimuth coordinates of the radio-contrast object, while the coordinates of the emitting post are required. The new "Zhuk-AME" also has the ability to form electronic jamming, which will be emitted by certain groups of antipersonnel mines, which will put it on a par with the advanced AN / APG-81 airborne radar of the 5th generation stealth fighter F-35A.
Light front-line multipurpose fighters MiG-29S / SMT, equipped with innovative radars "Zhuk-AME", will give odds to all versions of the updated F-16V, "Typhoon", "Super Hornets" and "Rafaley", since the technical and energy perfection of the radar of the latter is far behind; in turn, the radar signature of the improved fighters of the MiG-29 family can be reduced to 0.8-1 m2 due to the application of modern radio-absorbing coatings. In a battle with the most ambitious 5th generation fighters, the F-35A / B / C, the upgraded MiG-29SMT will feel much more confident than the variants equipped with Topaz and Zhuk-ME "slotted" radars. The light front-line aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces will be able to really "show their teeth" in long-range air combat and air-to-surface operations, which is practically unrealizable at the moment.
Of course, to evaluate any multi-role fighter in long-range aerial combat, it is necessary to have information about the air-to-air missiles it uses. The upgraded MiG-29S / SMT is no exception. In addition to standard missiles with an active radar seeker R-77, aircraft can receive their longer-range modifications RVV-SD ("Product 170-1") with a longer cruising mode of operation of the turbojet engine, or versions with a ramjet engine "Product 180-PD ". The range of the "Product 170-1", according to official information, reaches about 115 km in the front hemisphere, which is comparable to the indicator of the penultimate version of AMRAAM - AIM-120C-7; in fact, this figure can exceed 120-130 km with a ballistic flight trajectory at altitudes of about 30 km (the loss of speed at this altitude is about 5.5 times less than in the lower troposphere). The range of the "Product 180-PD" can be 150 kilometers or more. The RVV-SD family of missiles has maximum overloads of up to 45 units, which makes it possible to intercept targets maneuvering with an overload of 15-17G (also an excellent indicator for modern air-to-air weapons).
An equally important criterion for assessing the combat capabilities of the upgraded MiG-29S fighters in the air-to-air mode is the technical perfection of their optical-electronic sighting and navigation systems (OEPrNK). American and Western European military analytical resources and forums regularly raise the issue of the detection range of promising stealth fighters F-22A and F-35A with similar products, and as a result come to very disappointing results. So, on February 4, 2017, the military-analytical news publication "Military Parity", citing Western sources, reported that the detection range of the F-35A stealth fighter by Chinese AN / AAQ-37 DAS analog optoelectronic complexes mounted on J- 20 "Black Eagle", can reach 70 km. Such numbers are very unpleasant for the Americans, since the Chinese "tactics" will be able to detect "Lightnings" in the ZPS in a passive mode, without revealing their location. For our MiG-35 "Fulcrum-F" the situation is similar. Production vehicles are planned to be equipped with bow modules OEPrNK OLS-UEM. Despite the fact that they are classified as a new generation of thermal imaging systems, the detection range of an enemy fighter in afterburner mode is about 60 km to the rear hemisphere and about 25 km to the front. An even more difficult situation arises with an early model of the station - the OEPS-29 product, which is equipped with the front-line MiG-29A / S fighters. Its target detection range is from 20 to 30 km, which will give absolutely no advantages in battle with the improved 4th and 5th generation.
For example, French Rafali, as well as British and German Typhoons are equipped with 2-3 times more sensitive infrared sensors OSF and Pirate-IRST, the detection range of tactical fighters in afterburner flight mode can reach 150 km. Moreover, the infrared matrices of these sensors not only display the marker of the detected heat-contrast target on the pilot's HUD and MFI, but can also provide an infrared image of the accompanied aircraft with optical and digital magnification, thanks to which it can be clearly identified at a distance of tens of kilometers. The OLS of our "MiGs" and "Sushki" have not received any information about such capabilities. Consequently, the modernization of the MiG-29A / S line in the optical-location part, at the first stage, should consist in the development and integration of more sensitive OEPrNKs of the OLS-35 / 50M type, which will be equipped with heavy vehicles of the Su-35S or T-50 PAK-type. FA (the range of their action against fighters in ZPS increased to 90-120 km, in PPS - 55-60 km). The second stage may provide for the installation of an even more advanced sensor of the latest generation with the ability to visualize the tracked object on the multifunctional indicators of the pilot or system operator.
DO THE UPDATED AIRBORNE RADAR NEED FOR UPDATED RANGE INTERCEPTORS MIG-31BM?
By about the beginning of the 21st century, the technical and, accordingly, the combat potential of the MiG-31B heavy interceptors almost completely ceased to correspond to the level and versatility of air threats from the air forces of the main adversary countries. The problem was that the airborne radar with PFAR RP-31 N007 "Zaslon" had insufficient energy potential, which is why it was inferior in detection range of air targets not only to such radars with AFAR as AN / APG-79 (carrier-based multirole fighter F / A-18E / F / G), but also an ordinary radar with slotted AR of the AN / APG-70 type (an early version of the F-15E "Strike Eagle"), as well as the ECR-90 "Captor-M" (EF-2000 "Typhoon"). The transmission capacity of the Zaslon radar did not shine either: as with the “slit” radars, the number of targets tracked during the passage was only 10 targets, and 4 targets were captured. The onboard computer "Argon-K" could not provide the best performance. The maximum capture range of the F-16C fighter with an RCS of 3-4m2 (with suspension) was about 140 km, while the Falcon detects the MiG-31 at a distance of 190-210 km. Moreover, the R-33 guided air combat missiles, equipped with PARGSN, had a G-limit for a maneuvering target of about 5-8 units, low noise immunity and an effective range of 120-140 km, which no longer corresponded to the level of a long-range interceptor of the XXI century.
It is for this reason that by the end of the 90s. It was decided to develop a methodology for updating the entire MiG-31B aircraft fleet by installing the previously developed Zaslon-M radar and longer-range modifications of the R-33 - R-33S / 37 missile. The optionally more advanced MiG-31BM demonstrated its unique fighting qualities to the pilots and the Air Force command, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Defense, back in 1994, destroying a high-altitude air target at a distance of 300 km using R-37 missiles. The final decision to update the aircraft fleet was made in 2011, and in the spring of 2014, the improved machines began to enter service with the 790th Fighter Aviation Regiment, deployed at Avb Khotilovo (Tver Region). These interceptors carried on board an even more advanced version of the radar - "Zaslon-AM"; it differs from the basic version "M" by a more modern and high-performance processor "Baguette-55". In the family of "Zaslonov", developed by specialists of the Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Engineering named after V. V. Tikhomirov (NIIP) (a subsidiary of the Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern), the AM version has the final configuration of the element base: its modernization reserve is completely exhausted. This was stated by the general director of NIIP Yuri Belykh, which fully corresponds to reality.
The energy capabilities of the Zaslon-AM radar have been increased by about 2 times in comparison with the usual 8B Zaslon: the target detection range with EPR 1m2 reached 200-230 km, the F-35A stealth fighter - about 140 km; the number of tracked targets reached 24 units, and the speed of the intercepted target was 6300 km / h. In addition, the new station can control air-to-air missiles of the R-77 family, including the 180-PD Product, due to which the MiG-31BM became capable of fighting highly maneuverable enemy aircraft, to which the conventional MiG was not adapted. -31B. But this does not mean at all that the modernization potential of the MiG-31BM as a whole has been exhausted.
If, for example, we consider "Zaslon-AM" against the background of modern airborne radar stations with AFAR, one can notice many shortcomings. Passive PAR is represented by a powerful central radio frequency source, which transmits radiation to the emitting module of several hundred APMs; failure of this source will lead to the impossibility of operation of the entire onboard radar. Also, the radar with PFAR "Zaslon-AM", due to the impossibility of an individual frequency mode of operation of the PPM, is not able to create directional electronic interference. All these technological disadvantages of passive HEADLIGHTS are a very negative phenomenon, especially in the weapons control system of modern long-range interceptors, because these vehicles are designed for operations on long approaches to borders and strategically important industrial zones of the state, where often you have to rely only on the technical perfection of radar sighting complex of its own interceptor.
Interceptors MiG-31BM in the near future will need a fundamentally new radar with AFAR, developed on the basis of the radar under the index N036 "Belka" (planned to be installed on the T-50). A large nose cone makes it possible to install a powerful airborne radar with a web diameter of 1, 4 m and more than 2,000 transmit-receive modules, made both on the basis of standard arsenide-gallium conductors, and on the basis of promising ceramic covers with silver or platinum conductors. At an altitude of 19-22 km, such a radar will be able to detect a 4+ generation fighter-type target at a range of up to 400-420 km, track 60-100 targets and capture up to 16 VCs. Also, the MiG-31BM will have the ability to conduct directed electronic warfare, surveillance of surface targets in SAR mode and conduct electronic reconnaissance. The importance of starting this stage of modernization of the MiG-31BM is of decisive importance in maintaining the current state of the most operational component of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
