Friday, August 24, 2012

Indian Embraer AEW&C - More on Indian "Eye in the Sky"


Some more details on Embraer AEW&C -

The aircraft, with the indigenous Active Electronic Scanning Array (AESA) radar, will be an “eye in the sky.” The radar can look 240 degrees within a short time and has a range of 350 km. It can track more than 500 targets simultaneously.

Mr. Christopher, the Programme Director of the AEW&C system, said - “The important modes of operation of the system are surface surveillance and air surveillance. While the primary radar mounted on the aircraft is the AESA, the secondary surveillance sensor is the Identification of the Friend or Foe (IFF) system.The IFF system was developed by the CABS. The IFF determines whether the target, determined by the primary radar, is a friend or foe.” 

The most critical component in AEW&C is the AESA radar, which is developed by the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (ERDE), Bangalore, and the antenna called Active Antenna Array Unit (AAAU), made by the CABS. The radar is the processor part of the AAAU.




Embraer AEW&C moving to its new home ( Image Courtesy - DRDO )


CABS engineers said it was a challenge for them to integrate the AEW&C system components with the aircraft, which had to be modified. The AAAU weighed 1.5 tonnes and it had to be mounted on the fuselage without affecting the aircraft’s stability.

News Courtesy - thehindu.com

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