Recent advances in airborne phased array radar systems

Phased Array Radar using Active Electronically Scanned Arrays (AESAs) is now the de facto norm for airborne military radar, spanning such diverse applications as fighter radar for fire control and targeting, airborne early warning, maritime surveillance and overland surveillance. Recent advances have dramatically reduced the costs of these systems, whilst novel engineering solutions and waveform techniques have led to major improvements in performance and functionality. This paper describes some recent advances developed by Leonardo Airborne and Space Systems Division in the UK, describing examples in fighter radar (the multifunction Vixen 1000E radar for the Gripen aircraft) and in airborne surveillance radar (a new multi-panel radar using low cost tiled AESAs). The paper concludes with some views on the likely next stages of development in airborne radar.