A very impressive "stratospheric photoshop" of the future project of the early warning and control aircraft from Saab AB - "GlobalEye AEW & C". Due to its excellent flight performance, the Canadian-Swedish radar patrol and guidance aircraft is capable of operating 3-5 km higher than its counterparts. The machine project is also called the Swing Role Surveillance System (SRSS). The first contract for the most "farsighted" aerial radars was signed with the United Arab Emirates, its cost is 1270 million dollars. Various modifications of early warning aircraft from the Saab AB unit have already entered service with the air forces of states such as Saudi Arabia, Greece, Thailand, Pakistan and Brazil; the main operator, of course, is the Swedish Air Force
A FEW MYTHS ABOUT RADAR
Huge disagreements accompany any disputes between military specialists regarding the effectiveness of using stealth aircraft and air defense forces in a modern theater of operations filled with a wide variety of radar facilities, including AWACS aviation systems, and ground surveillance / multifunctional air defense missile systems, and radar systems of radio technical troops.
But the greatest number of myths, of course, were awarded to meter-range radars, which, according to some "experts", are capable of detecting stealthy tactical aircraft at a distance of 100 kilometers or more. Curiously, this information is absolutely not supported by any scientific theories of radar systems, but is explained only by a single case of interception of the American F-117A "Nighthawk" by the 5V27D anti-aircraft guided missile of the Yugoslav S-125 "Neva" air defense missile system, the division of which, apparently, received radar detectors of meter range P-12 "Yenisei" and P-18 "Terek". But these radars absolutely do not participate in the process of radio command guidance of the 5V27D missile defense system to the target, but only carry out a survey of the airspace and target designation for the X-band SNR-125, which is involved in the precise guidance of missiles to the target. It is also assumed that the missile guidance during the interception of the Nighthawk could have been carried out according to the data from the Phillips thermal imaging sighting system, which was mentioned by the commander of the 3rd battery, Zlotan Dani. This version is the closest to reality, because the pilot Dale Zelko said that the plane was intercepted immediately after departure from the lower edge of dense clouds: initially the plane was accompanied by P-12/18 and CHR-125, target designation from which was also received by the thermal imaging complex.
According to the report on the destruction of the aircraft, compiled by the deputy battery commander, Lieutenant Colonel Djordje Anichich, the F-117A first appeared on the indicators of the Neva operators at a distance of 23 km, which exactly corresponds to the target detection range with an RCS of about 0.1 m2 (F-117A) station SNR-125. The meter radars do not show any "superpowers" in detecting small-sized targets, since the waves of the meter range, similar to the decimeter and centimeter ones, have an equal reflection coefficient from objects larger than the wavelength. Remember: the ultra-small balls released during the experiment from the American "Shuttle" were detected precisely by the centimeter multifunctional "Don-2N" radar system.
But, in addition to the empty debates of observers on the topic of the possibilities of various frequency ranges of military radar, about which almost everything is known and logically clear, even the representative offices of some eminent companies and corporations are beginning to surprise with all kinds of "pearls" concerning a possible change in the concept of military equipment of a new generation, citing to advertise their "super-unique" projects or programs.
REAL POSSIBILITIES OF THE SWEDISH CONCEPT OF RADAR SURVEILLANCE AND GUIDANCE
So, the company "Saab", working on the project of a promising multipurpose surveillance aircraft / AWACS "GlobalEye AEW & C", hastened to declare that due to the increased detection range of its radar complex, the new operational-tactical situation in the air will lead to a loss of interest in the development of stealth technology from leading manufacturers of tactical and strategic combat aircraft. The statement is quite bold, but does the new project from Saab correspond to it?
The firstborn among the experimental AWACS aircraft for the Swedish Air Force was the S-88, developed on the basis of the American SA.227AC "Metro III", which is in the Swedish Air Force as a short-range passenger aircraft for the delivery of small special-purpose cargo and the accommodation of command personnel. A radar with a 2-sided AFAR FSR-890 of Ericsson was installed on the upper outer part of the fuselage on special supports. The fixed elongated radar fairing is located along the fuselage, which practically does not increase the mid-section area, and, accordingly, the aerodynamic resistance is much less than that of AWACS aircraft with a rotating fairing of the E-3C type. The FSR-890 radar, by the standards of 1991 technology, had excellent performance characteristics, allowing it to detect an F-16-type target at a distance of up to 300 km. The Swedish Air Force is guided by the BAS 90 aircraft basing concept, according to which aircraft can be quickly deployed on unprepared runways and sites in the most diverse and little-known places of the state, which in conditions of hostilities with the use of TFR can keep most of the Air Force fleet operational for a long time … Initially, the BAS 90 concept was tailored to the tactics of using multipurpose Gripen fighters, but some of its parts migrated to reconnaissance aviation, in particular, to AWACS aircraft, which is why all airborne radar patrol complexes are built on the basis of compact aircraft carriers of the SA type.227AC Metro III, EMB-145 or S-100B Argus.
One of the most common modifications of AWACS aircraft from Saab AB is the Saab 2000 AEW & C turboprop. This board (pictured) is part of the Pakistani Air Force. Unlike the developed jet "GlobalEye", this aircraft has lower flight characteristics and a standard dorsal radar PS-890 with a range of 450 km, some of its parameters will be shown in the lower image. The machine is developed on the basis of the Saab 2000 turboprop passenger aircraft, so the maximum speed with the radar fairing is about 620 - 650 km / h, and the service ceiling is only 9200 meters. The range of this aircraft is about 1100 km, and therefore it cannot be considered a strategic air command post, which today includes most RLDN aircraft based on wide-body airliners or military transport aircraft (A-50U, being developed by A-100 and Boeing E- 767)
The diagram shows the spatial coverage area of the PS-890 radar (red field is the main lobe of the elevation diagram): it is clearly seen that the radio horizon for the Saab 2000 AEW & C (at a 7-kilometer flight altitude) begins at a range of 370 km. The gray field represents the directional diagram of the ground-based radar complex; a small range of the radio horizon is noticeable on it (just over 50 km), and this is provided that the ground radar is located on a universal tower, or a natural elevation on the ground
The latest development of the Swedish "Saab" is an observation aircraft / AWACS, which is being developed on the basis of the Canadian long-range administrative aircraft Bombardier Global Express 6000. The machine is created by order of the UAE Air Force, issued at the end of 2015. The new "stratospheric observer", despite the moderate dimensions for RLDN aircraft, will receive a lot of technological bells and whistles and "advantages".
First, the aircraft will have a huge range of 5-6 thousand km, with a maximum speed of 900 km / h. This will allow you to very quickly get to the theater of operations and quickly begin duty. At a distance of 4000 km from the take-off site, this aircraft will be able to carry out duty for 8 hours at a speed of 500 km / h, which is about 2 times higher than that of the E-3C; and all this without refueling. Naturally, the car can be equipped with a filling station, which will further increase the range and flight time.
Secondly, "GlobalEye AEW & C" (MSA, multirole surveillance aircraft, the name of the concept is "Saab") is able to conduct duty at an altitude of 15, 5 km, which is already an important advantage among aircraft of this type, since the radio horizon is significantly increased both by air and for radio-emitting ground targets. This allows you to stay at a greater distance from the theater of operations.
Thirdly, the new multi-mode Erieye ER radar with AFAR has a 2 times higher radiation power of each APM antenna array, as well as an increased sensitivity of their receiving channel, which increased the detection range of typical air targets of the "fighter" type by about 80% (about 780 km). This radar is an improved version of the FSR-890 "Ericsson Erieye" and operates at a frequency of about 3.2 GHz decimeter S-band, which indicates the technical feasibility of implementing the target designation mode for missiles and air-to-air missiles with active radar seeker launched from other air or sea / land carriers. It is worth noting that the "Erieye ER", thanks to the S-band, has better accuracy in determining the coordinates of the target in comparison with such stationary radars as MESA (installed on Turkish aircraft AWACS Boeing 737AEW & C "Peace Eagle"). Developed by Northrop Grumman, MESA operates in the L-band at a lower frequency (about 1.5 GHz) with a wavelength of 15-30 cm, which affects the accuracy.
Radiotransparent fairing of the Erieye ER radar complex. Hidden in it, a two-sided AFAR cloth with a length of 9.75 m and a width of 0.78 m is capable of functioning in a "one-sided" mode. In this case, one side can use a significantly greater energy potential, which contributes to an increase in the detection range of air and ground / surface targets. Landing boats can be detected at a distance of 100 kilometers or more, large ships of the frigate / destroyer / cruiser class - over 300 km. The high accuracy and stability of the Erieye operation is facilitated by the developed air cooling system of the antenna arrays, the main part of which is a large rectangular air intake in the front part of the fairing, which is divided into two air ducts that go around the antenna array panel
Erickson's "Erieye ER" also has a drawback: in the front hemisphere (PPS) and the rear hemisphere (ZPS) there are 2 "blind zones" with a spatial angle of 60 degrees, they are not covered by the solid angle of the antenna arrays. But taking into account the almost 1.8 times greater detection range, this disadvantage can be easily compensated for by a periodic smooth change in the course direction within +/- 30 degrees. But is this advanced AWACS and U aircraft capable of reducing customer interest in stealth fighters and WTOs only due to its high detection range?
Imagine a hypothetical theater of operations, which uses a new aircraft AWACS from Saab with an Erieye ER radar, super-maneuverable multipurpose tactical fighters Su-30SM (as representatives of generation 4 ++) and stealth T-50 PAK FA."Thirties", hung with various high-precision missile weapons at the external points of the suspension, will have an RCS of up to 7-10 m2, and therefore will be detected by "Erieye ER" at maximum ranges of over 750 km. In this case, the Khibiny electronic warfare complex, although it will create serious problems with detection for the AWACS aircraft, the main task - to hide the fact of its presence in the theater airspace, will not be performed, because a section of space will be tracked where the source of radio electronic interference. Ground or naval air defense / missile defense systems will be immediately notified of the missile-hazardous direction. As a result, they can have time to deploy the multifunctional air defense radar in this direction in advance, which will reduce the reaction time and increase the chances of a more successful reflection of the strike.
The use of the T-50 PAK-FA will take place according to completely different tactics. A promising 5th generation aircraft complex, regardless of the range of weapons in the internal compartments, has an RCS within 0.2 m2 (according to official data). The aircraft absolutely does not need the use of the REB complex until it is detected by the enemy's radar means. The Erieye ER radar will be able to detect the T-50 at a range of no more than 200 - 250 km. Agree that a 3-fold difference in detection range between 4th and 5th generation vehicles is a huge tactical advantage for the latter. From a distance of 245 km PAK-FA can launch 4-fly anti-radar Kh-58UShKE missiles, and from 285 km - long-range tactical cruise missiles of the Kh-59MK2 type, which also have a pronounced stealth design (square cross-section of the hull and fairing, use composites). The T-50 will be able to launch a WTO from minimal distances, unnoticed by the enemy AWACS, the approach of which will become known only when the missiles approach a distance of 100 - 150 km. With the massive use of the latter, the enemy will not get a chance of successfully repelling a missile strike, since the flight time will be a matter of minutes. With the use of 4th generation aviation, this time can be tens of minutes.
It is for this reason that all of the aforementioned Saab statements about the futility of stealth aircraft are nothing more than an ill-conceived PR move to advertise a new AWACS aircraft, also known as GlobalEye AEW & C.
