Which is why its accurate to 0.01°k and the range is stated at 150-165km at optimum which is then further stated to be a look up, high altitude scenario against a target with RAM going supersonic.
To which it then immediately reacquires the target, and thats also only relevant to Pyrophoric flares in the rear aspect, spectral flares don’t completely cover the target and given again its an IIR seeker so would not be relevant.
PIRATE primarily detects airframe signature not afterburner or exhaust plume. This is deliberate and thats what sets it apart from traditional irst systems.
Equally it uses software to filter out targets with unrealistically high uv or ir signatures as it knows theyre flares.
It has a databank of known targets to compare incoming signatures with and can make a 3d ir image of a target from 50km away.
accuracy aside, the other conditions are very ‘best-case’. irl with clouds, and humidity, this range would not be higher than half of the radar range. even 74km just by IR/UV is near impossible for me to believe.
ahh but what you don know is the APG-77 is not like other radars, it is designed to have reduced emissions. So no you most likely will never pick it up.
Advanced Air-to-Air Modes
a) RANGE-WHILE-SEARCH (RWS). RWS mode processing provides air-to-air, all-aspect target detection, even in heavy clutter. The radar displays synthetic video on a clutter-free scope when presenting airborne targets, even those flying close to the ground. Ground-moving targets are eliminated by selective filtering and logic. There is a Spotlight mode to scan a small, pilot-selected volume to facilitate the detection of a desired target at the earliest possible time.
b) VELOCITY SEARCH WHILE RANGING (VSR). This mode gives maximum detection-range performance against closing; nose-aspect targets out to 160 nautical miles in both uplook and downlook situations. Through advanced processing within the Advanced Pilotage System Program, an innovative Alert/Confirm mode is activated to achieve a low rate of false alarm, while extending the range capability of the radar beyond the RWS mode.
c) TRACK-WHILE-SCAN. This mode was designed to help a pilot cope with numerically superior forces. To maximize situational awareness and firepower, TWS can track up to 10 targets. Target tracks are displayed for up to 13 seconds after a missed detection before the track file is terminated. This mode has proved effective in multi targeting situations.
d) SINGLE-TARGET TRACK (STT). This mode can be entered from any of the air-to-air search modes by using the side-stick controller and throttle grip. It provides a dependable, accurate track, displaying target parameters and the tactical engagement geometry. The STT submode provides track data to support cueing for short-range and beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile shots. It also provides gun-sight envelope solutions for short-range gunnery modes.
e) SITUATIONAL AWARENESS MODE (SAM). This provides the pilot with an interleaved search and track capability. SAM provides high-quality tracking on one or two targets while searching for other targets in an independent, pilot-selected scan volume. Track accuracy makes this mode ideal for accurate air-to-air missile cueing and all beyond-visual-range (BVR) target engagements.
f) TRACK RETENTION THROUGH THE NOTCH (TRTN). This feature is automatically activated in the track phase for STT and SAM. It allows active tracking when the target is maneuvering into the same Doppler filter as main beam clutter and when the target amplitude is such that the radar can no longer distinguish the target from clutter. The radar will automatically “coast” for a few seconds, until the target emerges from the clutter region.
It can still detect new airframes just as well, it just cannot necessarily identify the exact airframe. As the sensor determines more data it can accurately predict which aircraft it is looking at, if not it classifies its IR signature into aircraft category and can determine if a target has RAM coverage or thermal shielding.
Also B-2s have been used over European nations and indeed operated out of RAF Lakenheath so it will be in the databank.
I like following these threads to hear the people talk about newest capabilities and understand them better than I do, and everything I hear and read across YouTube and forums and here talks about just how insane the F35 sensor suite is.
The F-117, B-2, and B-21 aren’t 5th generation aircraft.
The YF-23 hasn’t been flying for a long time at all, with the B-21 being an obvious exception that you did note.
How so? Its modernization package included a better engine set that brought it up from 5- gen to 5th gen, with included avionics refinement and domestication.
A while ago being 2020, sure. It was quite delayed, and I had initially expected it to be in production around 2017-2018.
Su-57M started production in early 2024, with the very last Su-57 delivery being in December of 2023. Every Su-57 delivery since then has been of 57M, with a new contract ordering approximately 6 dozen (can’t remember exactly how many, give or take 6 or so).
It has been used? Hell, quite extensively… It’s more than capable of sensor handoff, being involved in 2 air to air kills, as well as air to ground strike missions.
There are about 32/33 of Su-57[M], a bit unsure of which due to the contested existence of one of their airframes.
How so? The H-PESA radars in-use are more than capable of “modern” performance, even far exceeding most operating limits that most MSAs and even AESAs currently have. Even our APG-83s and APG-81s still sit at a 120dg azimuth… The N035 found in 4++s already have 240dg azimuth.
MiG-35 is dead, long live MiG-29.
Oh boy, don’t flay the stealth aircraft. That defeats their entire purpose!
MiG 1.44, February 29th of 2000. Flew 3 years after the F-22A, with the preceding 1.42 flying in the same year as the F-22.
408 F-35s.
What model of the F-35 entered service in 2011??
Russia isn’t? Russia has made no attempt whatsoever to have long-range strategic bombers. Almost all of their total force revolves around fast long-range strike aircraft capable of carrying up to half a dozen munitions and ditching the second they’re fired. To have a large bulky B-2-esque target is laughable in the modern era.
This is why I think APG-85 will have GaN and some method of increasing azimuth as part of its improvement over the 81.
Also, if we’re going to prototypes, the 1.44 and 1.42 are both newer than the YF-22 and 23, and they’re not even really stealth to boot, I don’t think they even have S-duct
1.44 is, 1.42 isn’t. The 1.42 primarily served as an avionics demonstrator, while the 1.44 dealt with technology and VLO design.
S-ducts aren’t needed for a stealth aircraft? One of the most important factors of it are IFM visibility from the intake face.
