So it has roughly 3x the T/R modules of the PL-15E? Would you not concur that the PL-15E is either extremely poor AESA or a semi-advanced non-ESA radar?
Non-ESA is more likely. I am not into chinese missiles, but since PL-15E is an export variant (I think?), its head was likely replaced with a Planar Array or anything like that but ESA.
T/R modules are independent of the board and that is the reason the board is plain, because this is in fact likely the back board, and the wires would have gone through those holes to T/R modules. A reminder that other than T/R modules, all other radar seekers are integrated.
As seen, the radr antenna is largely 1 ‘board’ or one plate. With TR modules however the plate at the back simply the support for the T/R modules.
Also it is known that PL15 has AESA seeker. Whilst it is classified, this is as good a look we get; for instance, have u seen R77M seeker (confirmed) or Meteor or AIM260 seeker?
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I am seeing only 192 holes (less if you think some of these are actually connected on the ends of a slit), which is not much as far as T/R modules count goes imo.
I have seen at least one of those, yes.
That is a slotted waveguide array, those holes are not for sticking wires on T/R modules.
What we see is the back of the PL-15 non ESA seeker, the rectangular slots are the waveguide branches and the slots are the … slots.
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That would indeed be quite a weak ESA ngl.
I edited my last post to show a diagram of a standard slotted waveguide antenna, I think it is clear the PL-15E is using one. The branch waveguides are missing and all we see is the radiating slots with the area for the waveguides behind them.
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Slots are designed in a way to fit specific frequency and wavelength, and they are never designed as ‘round’.
You either have a extremely poor AESA (worse than non AESA) or a decent slotted waveguide array, pick your poison
There is obviously a center slot for the main waveguide that is separated by strips of holes on either side. This is clearly a slotted waveguide array.
Seriously? So u know how they arrange the wires and all that? 192 modules is already a huge count considering the count of rafale is just 800. 200 modules are plentiful for a seeker which has near 0 Fov.
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Would you mind sharing how they arrange the wires if that is your argument? Is there something I am missing? Currently the plate looks identical to what we could expect from a slotted waveguide antenna.
This is explicitly ur argument by arguing this is a waveguide.
How? referring to ur own picture, this would either be the main wave guide, which will not have been shaped as circular holes, or the branch wave guide which won’t have holes at all, or the radiation slots which will have ‘slots’ and not circular holes.
T/R modules.
Not for a seeker. Rafale’s one is only 800 T/R.
Which is quite poor, and the missile in question shot one down, didn’t it.
As a reminder to ur own post, the R77M only has a proposed 64 module.
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The R-77M isn’t in service yet, and the proposed seeker was extremely poor, so this is not news. Compare it instead to the AAM-4B.
Give it a count. I dare u.
Can you stop with the poor argument practice? Did you count it? Is what I am looking at not the T/R modules? I can mark it with paint like I did the slots for the PL-15 antenna if you’d like.
What is the point of this type of garbage reply?
Ur reply was AAM4B had more TR modules without stating how many nvm ur own completely useless conclusion of 192 was reached by counting the number of holes on the plate. Ur entire point is that Pl15’s aesa seeker is either poor, and anything defeated by it is either worse or simply ‘not in service’ or doesn’t have aesa seeker at all. U have not been able to comprehend what a T/R module is and concluded that AAM4B has a load of them, by ignoring the fact that T/R module does not equate to antenna count.
This is how a T/R module would look like, and the number isn’t determined by the number of holes.
I think you’re making it clearer and clearer that you yourself aren’t certain what it is you’re discussing.
Regardless, the AAM-4B seeker has 1,516 slots that I can identify:
What you are implying with the brick type T/R module is that each module itself has a ton of individual T/R modules correlated to each antenna element or it isn’t AESA and is in fact PESA like so:
@WreckingAres283 Looking further into why that AAM-4B seeker has a horn it seems to align more closely with a “Compact Dual-Polarized Continuous Transverse Stub Array with Two-Dimension Beam Scanning” as outlined in the linked document.
Could be an early test of electronic beam steering rather than an official seeker for the missile.
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