I had an argument about radio frequencies in R&R thread and it could bring a lot of off-topic stuff so I thought it will be better to do it somewhere else. Then I got the idea to get all that stuff into 1 single thread with easy to understand info about all that.
I think of this thread as a list of all RWRs, radio bands and how they interact with each other, radio filtering.
Basically I want this to be “Why this RWR can see this missile or radar lock but can not see other one” page
Placeholder currently, stuff will be added gradually later(with speed being depended on my laziness)
Main post will be edited all the time to fit everything obviously. I welcome any kind of info below
I will start with why AESA shouldn’t be visible on RWRs. At all.
To keep it simple AESA radars are basically arrays of smallers radars, instead of 1 scanning wave like PD does you send small impulse from each radar which can use it’s own frequency.(You can imagine that as lighthouse beacon slowly turning across whole area being PD radar wave and AESA being a laser show where hundreds of beams shoots randomly everywhere)
Doing that multiple times per second in a sequence known only to a sender you send a wave of various signals which are indistinguishable from the common background radio noise and only you can see it. From what I know no modern jet exist that have RWR capable of picking out AESA scanning or lock on.
Isn’t the short answer to that simply different radio bands used by different radars and RWR? All RWR and radars have their bands listed on the WT wikia. Can go endlessly in depth but doesn’t that answer it?
It’s not. As I written above even if RWR can see bands AESA radar uses radar still will be invisible
And this thread was more of a place to dump all the info about filtering frequencies and such wich wouldn’t be good to do in rumors&discussion thread where I was talking to a guy first. We will see what thread will turn out to be
Ah ok.
I suppose for AESA it might be a factor that only a portion of the entire radar output is directed at the lock. It’s very precise and can decide for each of its many antennae where to point whereas a more traditional radar would have the entire thing physically aiming at it with all the radiation going towards the RWR. So this particular example might be a sensitivity thing. Just kinda making an educated guess.
It’s nice but quite lacking in my opinion. I’d like to make similar in here but also with additional info about each that might be interesting for others
Looking forward to it! I think we can all use better understanding of the systems in War Thunder. Sometimes I’m amazed how detailed they implement stuff like CW seeker heads etc. At first I thought it was jut a bug going for the wrong targets but turns out it was my lack of understanding.
also, Modern RWR can detect AESA radars as well. they aren’t bound to one or a few frequencies. imagine the opposite of an AESA where they scan for signals in all frequencies hundreds of times per second. an AESA being indistinguishable from background noise would mean that the radar itself would not be able to pick up the return signals either so there HAS to be some difference. That difference is enough for an AI to sort out and detect, although with difficulty it is still possible with modern systems.
its the difference of having your neighbours play music on loudspeakers that EVERYONE in the neighborhood can hear or if they have headphones on. no common equipment could hear that music but get sophisticated enough tech and you could sort out that music and hear it if you really wanted to.
but that inherently means that it is distinguishable. if it were indistinguishable NOTHING would be able to sort it out in any way shape or form. it can be close to indistinguishable making it extremely hard but not be completely indistinguishable.
and again, an AI trained solely on precisely detecting radar would be able to detect it eventually. its just a matter of having a fast enough computer to sort through the data and find the signal before its to late.
Not only that but if they adversary (or ally) have their planes flying close to you on a regular basis you even have the opportunity to train the AI on specific planes so that you no only can detect it, you also know what plane it is from.
Tangent:
heck, I’ve seen info floating around that the us (and probably many others) have a system that can differentiate flying objects by sound of the propulsion. they can basically “hear” your plane from over the horizon and not only know direction, but also speed (doppler effect) and model of aircraft/missile. all this by just sound. But this is all “allegedly” from sources claiming to have inside info. It does however sound plausible given the tech available.