aerospacetechThe P.106 was said to give 70% of the capability of P.110 at less than 70% of the cost…
aerospacetechA P.110 model with different intakes:
aerospacetechBTW you need to select Cyrillic encoding in order to see that correctly…
aerospacetechActually the original Russian article says “Æóê-ÌÝ” which is normally transliterated “Zhuk-ME”, I think Roy is transliterating “Ý” as “Eh” now.
Original article in Russian:
Íà÷èíàþòñÿ ëåòíûå èñïûòàíèÿ èñòðåáèòåëÿ ÌèÃ-29ÑÌÒ ñ íîâîé ðàäèîëîêàöèîííîé ñòàíöèåé
Íà÷èíàåòñÿ ýòàï ëåòíûõ èñïûòàíèé èñòðåáèòåëÿ ÌèÃ-29ÑÌÒ ñ áîðòîâîé ðàäèîëîêàöèîííîé ñòàíöèåé (ÐËÑ) “Æóê-ÌÝ” ðàçðàáîòêè êîðïîðàöèè “Ôàçîòðîí-ÍÈÈД. Îá ýòîì “Èíòåðôàêñó-ÀÂÍ” ñîîáùèë âî âòîðíèê èíôîðìèðîâàííûé èñòî÷íèê â ðîññèéñêîì îáîðîííî-ïðîìûøëåííîì êîìïëåêñå.
“Çàâåðøåí íàçåìíûé ýòàï èñïûòàíèé èñòðåáèòåëÿ ÌèÃ-29ÑÌÒ ñ ÐËÑ “Æóê-ÌÝ” ïî ïðîãðàììå ãîñóäàðñòâåííûõ ñîâìåñòíûõ èñïûòàíèé (ÃÑÈ).  áëèæàéøèå äíè íà÷íóòñÿ ëåòíûå èñïûòàíèÿ ÐËÑ “Æóê-ÌÝ”, – ñîîáùèë èñòî÷íèê.
Ïî åãî ñëîâàì, çàâåðøåíèå ãîñèñïûòàíèé ÐËÑ â ñîñòàâå ðàäèîýëåêòðîííîãî êîìïëåêñà ñàìîëåòà îæèäàåòñÿ â ïåðâîì ïîëóãîäèè 2004 ãîäà.
“Ïëàíàìè íà òåêóùèé ãîä, êðîìå çàâåðøåíèÿ ãîñóäàðñòâåííûõ ñîâìåñòíûõ èñïûòàíèé èñòðåáèòåëÿ ÌèÃ-29ÑÌÒ ñ ÐËÑ “Æóê-ÌÝ”, ïðåäóñìîòðåíî è íà÷àëî ïîñòàâîê ÐËÑ äëÿ óñòàíîâêè íà ñàìîëåòû, ïîäëåæàùèå îòãðóçêå çàðóáåæíîìó çàêàç÷èêó”, – ñîîáùèë ñîáåñåäíèê àãåíòñòâà.
Îí íàïîìíèë, ÷òî â íàñòîÿùåå âðåìÿ ïðîâîäÿòñÿ ëåòíûå èñïûòàíèÿ “Æóê-ÌÝ” ñ ùåëåâîé àíòåííîé ðåøåòêîé (ÙÀÐ).  òî æå âðåìÿ, ïî åãî ñëîâàì, ïëàíàìè íà 2004 ãîä ïðåäóñìîòðåíî íà÷àëî ëåòíûõ èñïûòàíèé “Æóê-ÌÝ” ñ ôàçèðîâàííîé àíòåííîé ðåøåòêîé äëÿ èñòðåáèòåëåé ÌèÃ-29.
“Æóê-ÌÝ” – ìíîãîôóíêöèîíàëüíàÿ ìíîãîðåæèìíàÿ êîãåðåíòíàÿ áîðòîâàÿ ÐËÑ Õ-äèàïàçîíà, ïðåäíàçíà÷åííàÿ äëÿ óñòàíîâêè íà ÌèÃ-29ÑÌÒ. Äèàìåòð àíòåííû – 624 ìì. Íà ñàìîëåò ìîæåò áûòü óñòàíîâëåíà è ÁÐËÑ ñ àíòåííîé äèàìåòðîì 980 ìì. Êîíñòðóêöèÿ “Æóê-ÌÝ” ïîçâîëÿåò âñòðàèâàòü åå â èñòðåáèòåëè òèïà ÌèÃ-29 è Ñó-27. Íàðàáîòêà íà îòêàç – äî 150-200 ÷àñîâ.
Çîíû ïîèñêà (ïðåäåëüíûå óãëû îáíàðóæåíèÿ è ñîïðîâîæäåíèÿ öåëè) ñîñòàâëÿþò äëÿ àíòåííû ñ ÙÀÐ äèàìåòðîì 624 ìì ïî àçèìóòó +/-85; ïî óãëó ìåñòà +/-60; ïî êðåíó +/-120. Äàëüíîñòü îáíàðóæåíèÿ öåëè òèïà èñòðåáèòåëü (ÝÏÐ – 5 êâ.ì) – äî 100-150 êì. Àíòåííà äèàìåòðîì 980 ìì îáåñïå÷èâàåò óâåëè÷åíèå õàðàêòåðèñòèê ÐËÑ ïî äàëüíîñòè â 1,5 ðàçà, ïî ñðàâíåíèþ ñ àíòåííîé äèàìåòðîì 624 ìì.
aerospacetechHere’s its twin- the Yak-130 production configuration.
Yakovlev have variants for carrier training, recce, ECM, light attack, fighter-bomber, even UCAV on the drawing board- and a supersonic (Mach 1.5) derivative too! (Yak-135)
aerospacetechNo, IR seeker is a traditional, non-imaging seeker. IIR is an imaging IR seeker, using an array of elements. AIM-9X and ASRAAM use such seekers.
aerospacetech<br />
Imagine turning all the elements on and off at once </p>
<p>] -<br />
] -<br />
] - (pulse comes out straight forward)<br />
] -<br />
] -<br />
] -</p>
<p>If you turn the elements on and off in a pattern going across the phased array:</p>
<p>]-<br />
] -<br />
] - (pulse comes out at an angle)<br />
] -<br />
] -<br />
] -</p>
<p>You effectively have a wave travelling off at an angle.</p>
<p>The limit for steering a phased array in this manner is usually no more than +-60 degrees though (where did 120 degrees come from?)
aerospacetechsonar uses sound waves
radar uses radio waves
See?
🙂
aerospacetechOriginally posted by acfan2003
how fast does a pulse move? speed of sound?what happens if a plane is travelling at mach 2? how does radar work then?
Radio waves move AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT…
What exactly do they teach at schools these days? Sheesh 😉
aerospacetechOriginally posted by Pete_sj
Why would that make a “Stealthy” Aircraft? If a radar signal was programmed to go out to 150km and the signal stops at 100, wouldn’t you know something was going on? In order to classify an aircraft as stealthy, the radar signatures would have to go through the aircraft. RAM does not solve this problem only reshaping the structure would. That’s how the F-117, B2 and F22 works. Its shape reflects radar signals so as to appear to go through the aircraft.
Clearly you have no understanding of how radar works.
A radar sends out a pulse of energy. If the radar receives a pulse back, it knows there is a target in that direction and can calculate range from the time it took the pulse to reach the target and come back. If no signal is received, it assumes nothing was out there.
Now, when receiving the pulse, there will be a minimum level below which it won’t be detected and will vanish into general noise. The further away the target, the smaller the returned echo, until at maximum range it can no longer detect the target from noise.
Now, applying RAM won’t make the Su-35 invisible. However, it will reduce the level of the bounced back signal and that will effectively cut the range at which the returned signal can be distinguished from background noise.
True stealth aircraft use a combination of absorbing materials and shaping. Shaping makes the radar signals as far as possible bounce off in other directions rather than back to the sender. RAM reduces the reflected signal still further.
If the aircraft already exists, you can’t use true stealth techniques, but often small items like the engine intakes are major reflectors and account for a large amount of the total reflected energy. By treating these hot spots, you could cut the range of a hostile radar in half- not stealth, but still a useful advantage.
aerospacetechChina’s new air-to-air missile operational this year
Robert Hewson Editor, Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons
Dubai
China’s SD-10/PL-12 active-radar medium-range air-to-air missile (AAM) will be ready for operational deployment by mid-2004, according to the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC).
A CATIC official confirmed to JDW that the SD-10/PL-12 has completed developmental testing and that preliminary work on fielding the missile has already begun. The final operational test and evaluation phase will require about six months, says CATIC.
The SD-10/PL-12 has already undergone extensive ground- and air-launched testing over the past two years. A series of about 10 additional air-to-air firings, including the first fully guided end-to-end trials, will complete the work. SD-10/PL-12 is the export designation allocated to the missile that will be known as the PL-12 in China People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) service.
The new AAM has been developed by a Chinese technology team with significant input from Russian industry. While China has made several failed attempts to produce an indigenous medium-range AAM before now, the acquisition of key radio-frequency seeker technology and know-how from Russia has made the PL-12 a reality. On its entry to service it will be the first effective beyond-visual-range air-to-air weapon in the PLAAF inventory.
According to CATIC, the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) J-8 ‘Finback’ multirole fighter has been earmarked as the lead platform to be integrated with the PL-12. To date, all airborne testing has been undertaken using the J-8 and this will continue through the final trials stage. CATIC has also said that the Chengdu J-10 will be equipped with the missile once that aircraft is operational. The PL-12 is also likely to equip China’s upgraded force of Su-27SKK and licence-built SAC J-11 interceptors as part of the continuing capability enhancement and indigenisation these aircraft are receiving.
Pakistan has been widely viewed as the first export customer for the SD-10/PL-12 and is expected to field the missile on its JF-17 (CATIC FC-1) lightweight fighter.
Senior officers within the Pakistan Air Force have said that the SD-10/PL-12 might be in service within 12 months. However, CATIC has told JDW that it will be up to three years before the missile can be fielded with the FC-1/JF-17. The prototype FC-1 made its first flight in August 2003 but CATIC says that the development aircraft are fitted with none of the avionics systems of production-standard aircraft. It will be another three years before the FC-1 is fully outfitted with its mission systems and radar, says CATIC.
aerospacetechHostile radar range cut on Su-35s
Russian stealth researchers have developed materials and techniques that can reduce the head-on radar cross-section (RCS) of a Sukhoi
Su-35 fighter by an order of magnitude, halving the range at which hostile radars can detect it. The research group – working with Sukhoi, but based at the Institute for Theoretical and Applied Electromagnetics (ITAE) at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow – has performed more than 100 hours of testing on a reduced-RCS Su-35 and has also experimented with the use of plasmas – ionized gases – to reduce RCS.
US and European aircraft manufacturers have used specially developed materials to reduce the RCS of basically non-stealthy aircraft for many years. Notable examples include the Have Glass and Have Glass II modifications to the F-16. However, Russian work in this area was undisclosed until ITAE researchers presented a paper to a conference on stealth in London in late October 2003, which was organized by the International Quality and Productivity Centre.
According to the ITAE presentation, Russian researchers have developed mathematical tools that can calculate scattering from complex configurations, such as an Su-35 carrying a full external missile load, by breaking them down into small facets and adding the effects of edge waves and surface currents. The antennas are modelled separately and then are added to the entire RCS picture.
“A problem of huge size” is how the researchers describe the Su-35 inlet, with a straight duct that provides direct visibility to the entire face of the engine compressor. The basic solution has been to apply ferro-magnetic radar absorbent material (RAM) to the compressor face and to the inlet duct walls, but this involves challenges. The researchers note: the material cannot be allowed to constrict airflow or impede the operation of anti-icing systems and must withstand high-speed airflows and temperatures up to 200ºC. The ITAE team has developed and tested coating materials that meet these standards. A layer of RAM between 0.7mm and 1.4mm thick is applied to the ducts and a 0.5mm coating is applied to the front stages of the low-pressure compressor, using a robotic spray system. The result is a 10-15dB reduction in the RCS contribution from the inlets.
The modified Su-35 also has a treated cockpit canopy which reflects radar waves, concealing the high RCS contribution from metal components in the cockpit. ITAE has developed a plasma-deposition process to deposit alternating layers of metallic and polymer materials, creating a coating that blocks radio-frequency waves, is resistant to cracking and crazing and does not trap solar heat in the cockpit. The plasma-coating process is then carried out robotically in a 22m3 vacuum chamber.
ITAE and its partners have also developed plasma-type technology for applying ceramic coatings to the exhaust and afterburner. The conference video also showed the use of hand-held sprays to apply RAM to R-27 air-to-air missiles.
ITAE has studied at least three techniques for reducing the RCS contribution of the radar antenna, in addition to the simplest method of deflecting the antenna upwards and treating or shrouding other components. One of these is to design a radome that can be switched from RF-transparent to RF-reflective. The interior of the radome would be coated with a cadmium sulphide or cadmium selenide thin-film semiconductor material which changes conductivity when illuminated with visible or ultra-violet light.
However, the problem of making such a film has not been solved.
A second technique that is also described in Western literature is to place a frequency selective surface screen in front of the antenna. This is a foil-like metal screen etched with small apertures which allow RF energy to pass within a narrow waveband, corresponding to the radar’s own operating frequency. This reduces RCS, according to ITAE, but at the expense of radar performance.
However, ITAE has flight-tested a more exotic technology: the use of a low-temperature plasma screen in front of the radar antenna. The screen hardware is mounted in front of the antenna and is transparent to the radar when switched off.
When activated, the screen absorbs some incoming radar energy and reflects the rest in safe directions over all RF bands lower than the frequency of the plasma cloud. It switches on and off in tens of microseconds, according to ITAE.
In principle, this is the same as the ‘plasma stealth system that was reportedly developed by the Keldysh Scientific Research Center (also part of the Academy) in 1999.
At the time, it was claimed that the system, using a 100kg generator, could reduce the RCS of any aircraft by two orders of magnitude, or 20dB. ITAE has not attempted to develop a whole-aircraft system, but researchers expressed the view that it would be difficult to apply except to a high-altitude, low-airspeed aircraft because the airstream would dissipate the plasma faster than it could be generated.
The ITAE paper also gave some indications of the direction of stealth technology for future aircraft. Test facilities include large compact indoor RCS ranges for large-scale models and outdoor ground-level ranges with short pylons that can be used to test full-size aircraft (rather than the models used for US pylon tests).
In future designs, one emphasis is on large, complex skin panels, reducing the number of gaps and mechanical fasteners in the skin.
aerospacetechThey’ve both been posted already…
aerospacetechHeres a poor quality pic of the smaller P106 design- co-production was discussed with Saab, and it looks a bit like a Gripen don’t you think?
aerospacetechI meant its too late to think about alternatives NOW.
Overall I’d say F-16 would have been better value for money, but knowing us we would have shoehorned an R-R engine or two in, and Blue Vixen radar, changed the wing and then it would be non-standard, expensive, and everyone would be saying “Why didn’t we design our own damn plane….”
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