BORING! How about skipping this subject, you surely agree to disagree. So skip it, wait a few years and revisit the subject when Captor-E is finally there with a confirmation of its backend. Right now you are running endless circles throwing dirt at each other and pollute the thread.

I’m surprised @ the Captor-E IOC date of 2021. This probably sealed the EF’s fate vis-à-vis any Indian government-to-government deal post MMRCA.

By 2022 both Captor-E’s and RBE-2AA’s MMIC architecture will be dated. The irony is that the tech that allowed the russkies to pull ahead* isn’t indigenous and is mostly imported.

Also, I wouldn’t get too hung up on the EA capability of GaAs based AESAs. It’s noteworthy that for all the praises being sung about the AN/APG-81, it is the GaN based NGJ and its RAM turbine that are critical pieces of kit for the F-35 – despite to some extent compromising it’s LO shaping.
*

Who says that GaA TRMs will be used on the production variant of Captor-E?

You’ll have to wait for some official announcememt/confirmation. Right now it’s a rumour from those involved, hence the “may” in my statement.;-)

The one with captor e mk2

Captor-E is introduced as a retrofit for existing aircraft. Probably not much before 2021.

Not according to the information posted already. Both Mk1+ and Mk2 have a new architecture. It’s isn’t Captor-D with a new antenna because it’s not a tick in a box solution like the rushed RBE2-AA.

The French did what was suitable for them developing an AESA from a PESA and get the radar operational. It wasn’t rushed into service considering that flight trials of the AESA antenna began im late 2002. It’s perfectly viable as the RBE2AA is in service for some two years and to believe that’s it for the rest of the aircaft’s service life is at best ognorant. RBE2AA will be further developed, in which way remains to be seen, however there is often more going on behind the scenes than is apparent from public sources. I know it’s hard to understand and accept for enthusiastic peiple, but that’s the way it is. The French did a lot of things right and better than the the Durofighter partners, that’s the result of a single nation pushing a national program vs 4 nations trying to reach agreements on a four national base.

One shouldn’t talk up or down something for the sake of it being “mine or theirs”. That’s fanboyish at best and doesn’t shed a good light on yourself. Try to be a bit more open minded and fair, irrespective of how others may encounter you, you can’t complain if you aren’t any better.

Just my 2 ct

@Lukos

Programs like Bright Adder aren’t directly related to Captor-E though they may feed into it to some extend. Captor-E in its initial EIS form is aimed at export customers offering some AA and limited AG capabilities. Physically receiver and processor are retained from Captor-D with minor modifications, TPA and WGU are removed as they are no longer necessary in the AESA configuration, the TAU is replaced by the APSC and the M-Scanner is replaced by the AESA antenna mounted on the double swashplate repositioner. There is also a new provisional LRI called AAU which will be exploited at a later stage.

The OT&E variant shall include full AA and extended AG functions incl. some hardware changes already, the proposed IOC standard shall offer full AG and initial EA capabilities, whereas the EOC standard should provide full EA and some other capabilities. The “Mk1” more or less correlated to the EIS. The Mk1+ to OT&E and/or IOC and Mk2 to EOC. That’s a rough correlation of the different designations. Have to cross check the currency of the four previously stated standards with the 1, 1+ and 2 standards. There might well be hardware differences between 1+ and 2 and not only software changes. Right now the focus is on getting the hardware and initial software developed and integrated with the overall weapon system. EIS was previously proposed to built on P1E, but that’s increasingly unlikely.

As far as linkage of radar and DASS is concerned both were always interfacing with the attack bus. The integration is done by the AC, while interoperability is directly managed between the ESM/ECM processor and the radar processor.

I’m only going by what sources are indicating. I don’t see it being left to the early 2020s because that just too late from many perspectives.

The core nations won’t introduce it much earlier than 2021 or so, because their requirements go beyond what can be achieved by the current configuration with the old backend. The remains of the Captor-M (receiver & processor) will be replaced as only new hardware will allow for the exploitation of advanced features such as EA and data linking. The current receiver in particular is somewhat limited with only 3 data processing channels for example. There is a range of hardware upgrades in the pipeline and the core nations are being wise to wait for more capable and furure proof hardware. The 2017 date is the target date for an earlier export standard for customers with a quicker need for the E-Scan capability.