Zhuk radar

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Zhuk

Zhuk-ME Antenna at MAKS 2007
Country of origin Russia
Type Slotted Planar/PESA/AESA
Range 90 to 200 km, depending on variant

The Zhuk are a family of Russian (former USSR) all-weather multimode airborne radars developed by NIIR Phazotron for multi-role combat aircraft such as the MiG-29 and the Su-27. The latest versions are also known as the Sokol.

Description

The Zhuk (Beetle) family of X-band Pulse-Doppler radars provide aircraft with two modes of operation, air to air and air to surface. The air to air mode of the Zhuk is capable of detecting targets and measuring their coordinates, range and speed.[1] The radar has a look-down/shoot-down capability for air targets against a cluttered or water background and a variety of search modes are available. Individual targets can be tracked or multiple targets can be tracked and engaged at once while searching for new targets in track-while-scan mode.[1] The Zhuk radar can identify detected targets by class and prioritise multiple targets for engagement. A variety of close combat scanning modes are featured including vertical scan, HUD view, boresight and slewable are available as well as locking onto a visually acquired target.[1] The Zhuk radar also offers the ability to track and engage helicopters even when they are hovering.[1] The Zhuk is compatible with a variety of air to air weapons including the radar guided R-77 and R-27 missiles to which it can provide targeting, target brightening and radio adjustment.[1] The radar is compatible with optically guided missiles like the R-73 and can also provide fire control for aircraft cannon.

In the air to surface mode the N010 radar offers a mapping capability using either Synthetic aperture radar (SAR), real beam or doppler beam narrowing modes with a resolution of up to 3x3m with zooming and image freezing functions.[1] The radar can detect and track with measurement of range and speed both moving and static ground and naval targets. The Zhuk radar can support low altitude terrain following flying and can also detect dangerous weather patterns during flight. The radar is compatible with a variety of air to surface weaponry including Kh-29 air to surface missiles as well as Kh-31 anti-radiation missiles.[1]

The Zhuk radar is modular in design with older variants of the radar such as the Zhuk-M and Zhuk-MS capable of being upgraded to the latest Zhuk-A standard.

Variants

Zhuk

The Zhuk radar was first tested in 1986 for installation on the MiG-29M fighter upgrade and was also proposed as a radar upgrade for the MiG-23 fighter. The original Zhuk radar was only really capable of air to air combat and never made it into service with the Russian armed forces due to the cancellation of the MiG-29M upgrade program.[2] The Zhuk has a weight of 220 kg and uses a 680mm electronically scanned slotted planar array antenna which offers a detection range of 90 km against a target with a 5 m2 radar cross-section (RCS). The radar can track 10-12 targets while engaging 2-4 of them with a scanning area of +/- 90 degrees in azimuth and +55/-40 degrees in elevation;[3] its power output was rated at 5 kW peak.[4]

Zhuk-8-II

An export variant of the Zhuk radar developed for the Shenyang F-8-II Finback-B with similar performance to the Zhuk radar, only with a slightly increased weight of 240 kg.[3]

Zhuk-27

Designed for the Su-27 but with similar tracking and scanning performance to the Zhuk radar. The Zhuk-27 weighed slightly more than the Zhuk at 260 kg but had a superior detection range of 130 km vs a 5 m2 RCS target.[3]

Zhuk-M (Export Designation Zhuk-ME)

Zhuk-ME at 2013 MAKS Airshow

The N010M Zhuk-M is an advanced variant of the original N010 Zhuk radar introducing advanced air to surface functions like mapping and terrain following. The radar forms part of the MiG-29SMT upgrade, the Zhuk-ME finding success on export MiG-29 aircraft to countries like India. The radar features improved signal processing and has a detection range of up to 120 km vs a 5 m2 RCS target for the export variant, and up to 10 targets tracked and up to 4 attacked at once in air to air mode.[5] The tracking range is 0.83 - 0.85 of the detection range. In air to surface mode the radar can detect a tank from up to 25 km away and a bridge from 120 km away, a naval destroyer could be detected up to 300 km away and up to two surface targets can be tracked at once. The radar has a weight of 220 kg and a scanning area of +/- 85 degrees in azimuth and +56/-40 degrees in elevation. The antenna is an electronically scanned slotted planar array and has a diameter of 624 mm.[5]

Zhuk-MS (Export Designation Zhuk-MSE)

Zhuk-M radar developed for the Su-27 and its derivatives, the export Zhuk-MSE is suggested as being exported to China for use in PLAAF Su-30MKK aircraft. The antenna is an electronically scanned slotted planar array and has a diameter of 960 mm with a peak output of 6 kW. The Zhuk-MSE offers detection performance up to 190 km vs a 5 m2 RCS target with up to 10 targets tracked and up to 4 attacked at once in air to air mode. In air to surface mode the radar offers a modest 5 km detection range improvement over the Zhuk-M vs tanks. The radar has a weight of 255 kg and a scanning area of +/- 85 degrees in azimuth and +56/-40 degrees in elevation.[5]

Zhuk-F

An original Zhuk radar featuring a passive electronically scanned array (PESA) antenna instead of a slotted planar array, the radar never made it into service or out of development despite being offered for export. Designed for the Su-27 the Zhuk-F had a 130–200 km detection range vs a 5 m2 RCS target with up to 24 targets tracked and up to 8 engaged. The radar had a weight of 300 kg and a scanning area of +/- 70 degrees in elevation and azimuth.[3]

Zhuk-MF (Export Designation Zhuk-MFE)

Upgrade of the Zhuk-M radar featuring a 700 mm PESA antenna. The Zhuk-MFE offers detection performance up to 110 km vs a 5 m2 RCS target with up to 20 targets tracked and up to 4 attacked at once in air to air mode. In air to surface mode the radar offers the same functionality as the Zhuk-M. The radar has a weight of 285 kg and a scanning area of +/- 70 degrees in azimuth and elevation.[5]

Zhuk-MFS (Export Designation Zhuk-MFSE)

Upgrade of the Zhuk-M radar, the Zhuk-MFS offers detection performance up to 180 km vs a 5 m2 RCS target with up to 30 targets tracked and up to 6 attacked at once in air to air mode. In air to surface mode the radar offers a modest 5 km detection range improvement over the Zhuk-M vs tanks. The radar has a weight of 305 kg and a scanning area of +/- 70 degrees in azimuth and elevation.[5] The radar uses a PESA antenna, which has a diameter of 980 mm with a peak power output of 8 kW[4] with 16 carrier frequencies. The Zhuk-MFS(E) has been offered as an alternative radar for the MiG-31 interceptor as opposed to the standard N007 Zaslon radar.[6]

Zhuk-A (Export Designation Zhuk-AE)

The latest incarnation of the Zhuk radar family featuring an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA). The radar uses 680 4 channel transceiver modules with a power output of 5 watts per channel. The radar is stated to provide a detection range of 130 km for a head on target with up to 30 targets tracked and 6 of those engaged at any one time. As an AESA the radar is liquid cooled, with each transceiver capable of being switched off to prevent damage from overheating and switched on again when cooled. Two variants of the Zhuk-A exist: the FGA-29, and the follow on FGA-35 which will boast an improved detection range of 200 km with 60 targets tracked, the radar will also support a maximum mapping resolution of 1x1m in air to surface mode. The FGA-35 will feature a 700 mm antenna with an increased number of transmit and receive modules to between 1000-1,100, a 20 degree incline and a peak power of 6 kW.[7]

  • Zhuk-AE at 2009 MAKS Airshow

  • FGA-35 at 2013 MAKS Airshow

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Phazotron Website". 
  2. ↑ "ACIG MiG-29M2". 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Russia's Arms 2001-2002. Moscow: Military Parade Ltd. 2001. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Russian Avionics". 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Rosoboronexport Catalogue". 
  6. ↑ Published Brochure. Phazotron 
  7. ↑ "Defence Update". 

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