Yes that is correct even if it should be ±60° vertical (360° horizontal) as the MAWS uses Ka-Band AESA PD-Radar antennas which can steer the beam ±60° if nessecary with reduced range. One antenna in each wing root (possible CW type) and one under the rudder above the engine nozzles.
The PIMAWS (IR based MAWS) on the other hand should only be able to scan ±52,5° vertical (360° horizontal) six times per second.
Edit: The MAWS actually should do ±60° in elevation (vertical) as the three antennas have to scan ±60° in azimut (horiontal) too to ensure 360° observation, otherwise there would be three blindspots 30° each.
The RWR on the other hand has full spherical 360° observation without blindspots.
Is it really though? My last information about the CAPTOR-M is that it should reach double the pulse power of the AN/APG-65 which has 4,5 kW pulse power. So the CAPTOR-M should be at ~9kW pulse power at minimum.
CAPTOR-E as an AESA is at 9,31 kW all availible information put together for that one, which is interesting as early AESAs were nowhere near as powerful as PESA radars with central tubes for signal amplification but are now overpowering them.
Aren’t the defense systems integrated within the DASS? The MAWS should respond to threats with a passive homing head, those that the RWR does not see. In theory, even if the MAWS does not see a threat on its own, information about it should be transmitted from the RWR
Yep correct. So the MAWS should react to everything ARH full spherical. To SARH it can’t as the missile itself is passive, same as IR and has to detect them with its own active radar (360° x 120°) or its passive infrared sensors (360° x 105°).
It does not have a thermal MAWS (at least I don’t know of one). It has a Doppler-based MAWS. One sensor in the rear hemisphere above the engines and one in each wing root. I have not seen any thermal sensors anywhere.The point is that IR threats can only be detected by the MAW system’s Doppler radar, while a radio missile can also be detected by the RWR. It’s just that in Typhoon they work directly with each other, and not as two separate systems.
SARH… well it detects the launch aircraft’s radar illuminating it and then the missile approaching so it can deal with that
probably the same way as with ARH.
It sees the radar illumination AND the missile → yep thats radar guided → chaff
only sees a missile → yep thats probably IR guided → flares
now obviously that wont help against command guided or beam riding missiles
although the british one might detect beam riding as well with its LWR
I was talking about the RWR in this case which of course can detect the illumination but not the missile itself so has no idea how far it is away until the MAWS detects it.
And Beamriding is an issue. The ones with LWR can detect it but the MAWS will just detect an incoming missile, thinking it’s IR guided and start dropping flares pointlessly. No one has countermeasures against it, you can just outmanouver it or hide behind terrain.
CAPTOR-M is an upgraded Blue Vixen from the Sea Harrier FA2.
But… in the absence of certain specific information from primary sources, stats are taken from the Blue Vixen. Also there is a number of issues like it having only a 4 second INS tracking time compared to the 8 seconds on the Blue Vixen, which I beleive is causing a number of issues.
So we’ll have to wait and see and hope that it gets some mega buffs in the coming weeks, but at a bare minimum it should be equal to the FA2 and Gripen which it currently isnt.
