Uttam AESA Radar

Uttam
Uttam AESA radar displayed at Aero India 2019
Country of originIndia
ManufacturerBharat Electronics
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
DesignerElectronics and Radar Development Establishment
IntroducedIn development
TypeSolid-state AESA

Uttam is a solid-state gallium arsenide (GaAs) based active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar under development by the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), a laboratory of the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is a low probability of intercept radar. It is a liquid cooled AESA radar featuring quad band modules that can be stacked to form a larger unit. This allows the manufacturer to scale the radar to be used in larger aircraft.[1]

Development

The radar development began in 2012 and its full-scale model was displayed at the 2017 Aero India air show and aviation exhibition.[2] A fully functional active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar prototype was unveiled at Aero India 2019, the prototype was mounted inside the glass nose of a HAL Tejas prototype.[3]

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is the lead integrator and Bharat Electronics is major supplier of subsystems. As per Project director D Seshagiri of Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), Uttam AESA radar is 95% indigenous, with only one imported subsystem. The National Flight Testing Centre had evaluated the radar and cleared it after performance tests. The integration problem of Astra BVRAAM due to older generation of radars will also be solved by Uttam.[4]

During Aero India 2021, there was a licensing agreements for technology transfer from DRDO to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for manufacturing and integration of the Uttam in the Mark 1A variant of the HAL Tejas.[5]

Testing

As of 2021, three units were in various phases of testing. The Uttam radar has completed 230 hours of airborne testing onboard two Tejas fighter jets (LSP2 and LSP3) and on an executive jet; presumed to be DRDO's Dornier 228 "Nabhratna" used as a flying test bed by LRDE.[6] Once fully validated and certified, it is planned is to introduce the radar in later batches of Tejas Mark 1A aircraft.[7][8] The Uttam radar will be used with DRDO's Unified Electronic Warfare suite.[9] Indian Air Force Test Pilot School would start final demonstration trial of Uttam AESA radar from December 2021 and if successful will be sent for serial production. LRDE has completed 250 hours of performance testing on two Tejas fighters as well as Hawker 800 executive jet.[4]

As of April 2024, the radar has completed 125 test sorties onboard Tejas Mk 1 prototypes as per ADA Director Dr Jitendra Jadhav. The radar has cleared testing Air to Air (A2A) and Air to Ground (A2G) modes while few more tests are yet to be conducted. The performance of the radar is on par with other proven designs like EL/M-2052.[1]

Features

Operational Modes

Uttam AESA radar has a total of 18 modes in Air to Air, Air to Ground and Air to Sea roles. The modes have been validated on-board a business jet and further proofing is being done on HAL Tejas to validate the same on supersonic platform.[10]

  • Air-to-Air
    • TWS/Multi-target detection and tracking
    • Multi-target ACM
    • High resolution raid assessment
  • Air-to-Ground
    • High resolution imaging (SAR Mode)
    • High resolution tracking (SAR Mode)
    • AGR – Air-to-Ground Ranging
    • RBM – Real Beam Map
    • DBS – Doppler Beam Sharpening
    • GMTI on RBM, SAR
    • Weather
  • Air-to-Sea
    • High resolution imaging (SAR Mode)
    • High resolution tracking (SAR Mode)
    • Sea search and multi-target tracking
    • RS and ISAR classification modes.

Virupaakhsha

Virupaaksha radar is an advanced version of the Uttam Mk-II radar. The radar under development will replace the current N011M Bars radar being used onboard Sukhoi Su-30MKI after Super Sukhoi upgrade.[11][12][13]

Virupaaksha utilises Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology with improved radar operational characteristics than Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) used by earlier variants. GaN provides better power output, enhanced thermal efficiency, wider bandwidth of operation, and a longer lifespan compared to earlier variants. The radar incorporates the quad transmit-receive modules (T/R modules) similar to Uttam but has a more densely packed configuration and has around 2400 modules based on GaN based planks. The plank configuration eases maintenance operations.[14] Reportedly, the radar succeeded to track 64 to 100 aerial targets simultaneously during trials and offers at least 1.7 times increased head-on search range over the 140 km-range N011M Bars radar. It features advanced electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM).[13] The Virupaksha radar operates in the S-band frequency range, and can detect and track a wide range of targets like aircraft, helicopters, drones, and even ballistic missiles. It has a reported head-on search range of over 400 km, though the value is officially classified.[15]

As of October 2024, LRDE plans to set up "assembly jigs" to begin ground testing soon. These will be delivered within 16 weeks of the contract’s approval. The assembly will be completed within 15 weeks while the last week will be reserved for acceptance testing.[14]

Applications

The fighter jet platforms that have been integrated with Uttam radar or are planned to be integrated are as follows:

  • Uttam AESA Radar integrated in LCA Tejas showcased during Aero India 2019.
    Uttam AESA Radar integrated in LCA Tejas showcased during Aero India 2019.
  • Uttam AESA radar on display at Aero India 2019
    Uttam AESA radar on display at Aero India 2019
  • Side profile of Uttam AESAR.
    Side profile of Uttam AESAR.
  • The Active Antenna Array Unit (AAAU) of Uttam AESA radar on static display at Aero India, 2019
    The Active Antenna Array Unit (AAAU) of Uttam AESA radar on static display at Aero India, 2019

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "UTTAM AESA Radar Integrated With TEJAS MK-1: Dr Jitendra Jadhav Director ADA". Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Uttam AESA radar ready for induction in Tejas MK1A".
  3. ^ "India Displays Locally-made AESA Radar for Tejas Jet at Aero India 2019". DefenseWorld. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Gupta, Shishir (8 December 2021). "India develops AESA radar to make IAF fighters more lethal". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  5. ^ "DRDO hands over Licensing Agreements for Transfer of Technology for 14 technologies to 20 industries". PIB. 5 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Exclusive: Why desi Uttam AESA radar is a game-changer".[dead link‍]
  7. ^ Ajai Shukla. "Rs 26k-crore order for building Tejas Mark 1A to open door for Mark 2". Business Standard. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  8. ^ "HAL cuts its profit on Tejas Mark 1A deal by 50%, fighter jets to take to sky by 2022". The Print. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Single Engine Fighter Cancellation Provides An Opening For Tejas MK-2". Delhi Defence Review. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  10. ^ Uttam AESA Radar Update with Project Director Mr. D Seshagiri (LRDE). Delh Defence Review. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  11. ^ a b "India plans to equip Russian-origin Su-30MKIs with indigenous 'Virupaaksha' radar". The Economic Times. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Air Force to equip Su-30MKI fleet with indigenous 'Virupaaksha' radar". India Today. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Virupaksha will transform IAF's Su-30MKI fighter into Super Sukhoi". English.Mathrubhumi. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  14. ^ a b alphadefense.in (8 October 2024). "Monstrous Virupaksha Radar of Su30 MKI Upgrade". alphadefense.in. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Super-maneuverable Su-30 MKI gets an Indian all-seeing radar". bulgarianmilitary.com. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Flight testbed to look out for on the static ramp at Aero India 2023! Introducing, RFT Hawker BAe 125 Series 800A in flight testbed configuration. @praneethfranklin". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  17. ^ Roblin, Sebastien (12 August 2017). "Is India on the Verge of Building a Super Jet Fighter?". The National Interest.
  18. ^ "Atma Nirbhar defence: Indigenous projects to look out for at Aero India 2021". The Week. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Uttam AESA radar: Everything you need to know". Aero Journal India. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.