If they want to take the shortcut, they need to add a system similar to ESA. They will still need to create an analogue later.
The long way involves combining radar, IRST and RWR into one common attack system, which combines data on the position of all targets that they were able to detect and have the ability to attack them. And I haven’t even mentioned datalink. If snail does this before the end of NEXT year - I will be sincerely surprised.
The problem is that we have entered an era where a combat aircraft is not a unit, but a part of a complex. And they are not designed to work alone. Even their internal systems do not work separately.
I hope the snail understands that almost all 13.7+ need to rework the logic of the combat systems and the sooner it starts working, the less work there will be later. Typhoon or Rafale do not work the same way as, say, Phantom 4E.
I mwan, realistically, the CAPTOR-M should not be anywhere near the RBE2-AA in performance, thats like 20 year tech gap. The comparable radar wouldve been the RBE2 PESA fron the earlier Rafales.
My issue is that the CAPTOR-M isnt i the ballpark of the VOO4 from the SU-34, which is from the same time period, a first gen ESA, which is what the CAPTOR-M and PS-05/A SHOULD be by literally all accounts.
I mean i could be wrong but VOO4 is still considered a first gen PESA. iirc its from the 90’s.
Edit: its from the 90’s, same time period as CAPTOR-M, and tho the soviets did have earlier ESA’s, its generally agreed they had inferior radars to western ones regardless.
I mean, the TWS on the M2K is literally just a single bar going side to side, it has no elevation change in its “pattern”.
It keeps track pretty well but is trash at searching for targets lol.
PESA, and like i said, just becuase its an ESA, doesnt mean its better, particularly with early ESA’s. That was LITERALLY the EFT designers decision to stay with mech scans over ESA’s, they did not consider them reliable enough at the time to be the primary FCS of a modern jet.
Im guessing SAAB felt the same with the PS-05/A. Botg are highly advances mech scan radars with “ESA-like” capabilities.
I’ve heard CAPTOR-M was generally considered on par with most earlier PESA radars and when you look at it. Its pretty clear why.
In radar strength and range its fairly similar (maybe even better?) and can do most of what any PESA or even AESA radar can do, which is maintain track on a large number of targets, even outside its current scan area using Priority Track.
It even could track air and ground target simutaneously.
The only area that PESA would be better is scan rate, but that is largely irrelevant if you’ve detected the target from further away and can fire further away.
Its only the later and more modern fully AESA radars that start to maintain more universal advantages, but even then CAPTOR-M clearly still holds its own, otherwise Eurofighter consortium members would have replaced the CAPTOR-M years ago, instead of doing it now.
No this wasnt compairing ESA vs ESAn this was considering comparable timeframe radars. The sovuets just had inferior radar tech. Not to say it was bad, it was just generally “inferior”.
I have no doubt that AESA was well within their capabilities and we even see AESA radars being adopted in other areas, like the AESA Seaspray radar built by Ferranti (same people who built the Blue VIxen and ECR-90) being built in 2002 and was even adopted by the US Coastguard for their C-130s :D
So no. it wasnt that they couldnt build AESA radars, it was a decision to wait until the technology fully and completely matured
It’s BV because of a source showing it was a modified BV, allowing us to get rid of the F-16D radar that it had before.
But over the past year, more sources and information have been found and they probably could implement some or more of the features of the BV. If nothing else, GMTI
I have the specific quote about the decision somewhere in this thread.
The EFT does not have NO AESA’s, they just dont have it as their primary fire control sensor because they did not trust first gen ESA’s for the job at the time.
Hence why i commented CAPTOR-M likely being in the same class as V004/RBE2, not in the same class as the RBE2-AA.
Power output is kind of irrelevant, since iirc -ESA can put that power down more efficiently and effectively. CAPTOR-M can have all the workarounds, but in the end it is a mimicry of ESA radars and lacks the fundamental advantages.
F-22 AESA and Rafale PESA readily beat the CAPTOR-M in about every category anyways. APG-77 is from 1990’s too…