Phazotron-NIIR’s new radars

Phazotron-NIIR Corpo­ra­tion, Russiaʼs leading radar specialist, is working to create a next-generation radar with an active electronically scanned array (AESA). Its first applications will be on future Russian unmanned aerial vehicles, but Phazotron specialists say the new radar will also find its way onto other aircraft types.

Phazotron-NIIR General Designer Yury Guskov told Russia & CIS Observer that the corporation had won a government tender for the development of a radar based on 3D technology earlier in 2012. The 3D technology will help reduce the radar’s size and weight and make it less expensive than Phazotron’s previous AESA radars. "Many aircraft developers complain of AESA technology being prohibitively expensive, so we would like to hope that our 3D-based radar overcomes this price threshold," Guskov said.

In a 3D radar, the transmit/receive modules (TRM) are arranged not on the usual two-dimensional surface but in several progressively elevated layers. As a result, each TRM is several times more compact and lighter than the usual module, while retaining the standard technical parameters. Module-level reliability also increases. "It will take several years to mature the technology and launch series production, but that period will be shorter than the five years we took to develop the previous TRM. This is the way towards a smart-skin radar," Guskov notes.