AN/APG-76

Last updated

The AN/APG-76 radar is a pulse Doppler Ku band multi-mode radar developed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman.

Contents

AN/APQ-92

The first radar of the radar family AN/APG-76 belongs to is AN/APQ-92, which equipped A-6A. AN/APQ-92 is a search and navigational radar, with function called search radar terrain clearance (SRTC) to generate a synthetic terrain display on the pilot's Vertical Display Indicator (VDI), which is a large cathode ray tube (CRT) display in the center of the pilot's console, right under the gun sight. The display showed vertical terrain development in a 53 degree x 26 degree window about the projected flight path. If the Intruder was heading for a valley between two hills, the pilot would see return generally in the shape of two hills (one on either side of the display), with a curving "V" notch in the center between them. The limitation of SRTC is in its inability to detect smaller artificial features - like cables suspend across a valley.

AN/APQ-92 is part of DIANE (Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Devices), which consists of multiple radars: the Norden AN/APQ-92 search and navigation radar, the separate AN/APQ-88 for tracking/attacking, AN/APN-141 radar altimeter, & AN/APN-122 navigational radar to provide position updates to the AN/ASN-31 inertial navigation system. [1]

AN/APQ-103

AN/APQ-103 is the successor of AN/APQ-92, and it is used in conjunction with AN/APN-153 Doppler navigational radar that replaced earlier AN/APN-122, and AN/APQ-112 radar replaced AN/APQ-88. The APQ-103/APN-153/APQ-112 upgrade is part of the improvement of DIANE installed on A-6B. [2]

AN/APQ-112

AN/APQ-112 is a tracking radar that replaced earlier AN/APQ-88 radar developed by Naval Avionics. While the AN/APQ-88 could only track moving targets, the APQ-112 could track stationary targets as well, and it had slightly better resolution and greater reliability than AN/APQ-88.

AN/APQ-112 not only could perform all functions of AN/APQ-88, but was also capable of performing some functions of AN/APQ-103. As more advanced version of AN/APQ-112 was developed, it replaced AN/APQ-103. However, the attempt to replace two separate radars failed at the time due to increased mission requirement, and a separate dedicated fire control radar was needed. As a result, the vastly improved Sperry Corporation AN/APQ-127 was adopted, while AN/APN-186 navigational radar replacing earlier AN/APN-153 in earlier A-6B. APN-186/APQ-112/APQ-127 suit is designed as part of A-6C specially dedicated for night attack missions against the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Vietnam. [1]

AN/APQ-129

AN/APQ-129 is a derivative of AN/APQ-112 for EA-6A, allowing EA-6A to fire AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile (ARM), though this was never done in real combat. [1]

AN/APQ-148

The J-band AN/APQ-148 is the first one in the radar family that had achieved the capability to replace two separate radars with a single multi-function radar. AN/APQ-148 was the original radar on board the A-6E. [1]

AN/APQ-156

AN/APQ-156 is the development of AN/APQ-148, and it is used in conjunction with Target Recognition and Attack Multi-Sensor" (TRAM) system starting to be installed on A-6E in 1979 during upgrades. The bombardier/navigator could use both TRAM imagery and radar data for extremely accurate attacks, and the radar has an Airborne Moving Target Indicator (AMTI), which allowed the aircraft to track a moving target (such as a tank or truck) and drop ordnance on it even though the target was moving. [1]

AN/APS-130

AN/APS-130 is a derivative of AN/APQ-156 and the upgrade of AN/APQ-129, by applying the knowledge gained from AN/APQ-156 to improve AN/APQ-129. AN/APS-130 is fitted on EA-6B, enable the aircraft to fire AGM-88 HARM. [3]

AN/APS-146

AN/APS-146 is a simplified version of AN/APQ-156/APS-130, with the interferometer omitted, but added a weather avoidance pencil beam, and replaced the reflector antenna with a planar antenna. [4]

AN/APQ-173

AN/APQ-173 is the development of AN/APQ-156 with the addition to include synthetic aperture radar (SAR). and multi-function cockpit displays the APQ-173 would have given the Intruder air-to-air capacity with provision for the AIM-120 AMRAAM. AN/APQ-173 was designed for A-6F/G which were cancelled. [5]

AN/APG-76

AN/APG-76 is used in F-4E Kurnass 2000 (Israel) and has been tested in a pod configuration with the F-16 and S-3 Viking Gray Wolf Project. AN/APG-76 incorporates capability of AN/APQ-173 such as being compatible with AGM-88 and AIM-120, and it can also be configured as a side-looking radar. The side-looking version of AN/APG-76 played a very important role in the development of AN/APY-3 radar for Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS in providing the foundation of know-hows for the development of the more advanced AN/APY-3.

AN/APY-3

AN/APY-3 is the radar developed for E-8 J-STARS. [6] The 24-foot (7.3 meters) long, side-looking planar passive phased array radar is housed in the 27-foot (8 meters) long, canoe-shaped radome under the forward fuselage of the hosting aircraft. The radar and computer information systems on the E-8C gather and display detailed battlefield information on ground forces. The information is relayed in near-real time to the ground stations and to other ground command, control, communications, computers and intelligence, or C4I, nodes.

AN/APY-3 provides high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images with moving target indicator (MTI) overlays to enable the operator to pick out targets in the images that were moving above some speed threshold. The SAR-MTI radar can be integrated with an INS or GPS to give the precise locations of targets, with the data relayed to other platforms over JTIDS.

The antenna of AN/APY-3 is tilted to either side of the aircraft where it has a 120-degree field of view covering nearly 19,305 square miles (50,000 square kilometers), and is capable of detecting targets at more than 250 kilometers (more than 820,000 feet). The radar also has some limited capability to detect helicopters, rotating antennas and low, slow-moving fixed wing aircraft. A total of 1000 ground targets can be simultaneously tracked by AN/APY-3.

AN/APY-6

The X-band AN/APY-6 is a derivative of AN/APY-3, and it is based on fiber-optic Ethernet LAN. The radar has SAR, Inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) and ground moving target indication (GMTI) modes. The resolution in strip SAR mode is 1.8 m (6 ft), while in SAR and ISAR mode, the best resolution is 0.35 m (1 ft). AN/APY-6 has a total of four parallel receivers, with one for GMTI, and three for various SAR/ISAR modes. The planar passive phased array antenna can be either point forward or abeam, with coverage of 200 degree arc, and a maximum range of 200 km. AN/APY-6 is designed for precision target striking, and an AESA version is currently under development. [7]

AN/APY-7

AN/APY-7 is the development of AN/APY-3, and it is a solid state version of AN/APY-3 that adopts active electronically scanned array technology. AN/APY-7 radar can operate in fixed target indication (FTI), wide area surveillance, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), target classification and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) modes. An antenna is installed on the underside of the aircraft, which can be tilted for a 120 degree to either side of the plane to cover targets at more than 152 miles (250 km). The 7.3 m (24 ft) long, 0.6 m (2 ft) wide side-looking AESA antenna is housed in a 12 m (40 ft) canoe-shaped radome under the forward fuselage of the hosting aircraft along the center line. As with AN/APY-3, AN/APY-7 is electronically steered in azimuth by phase shifters, and mechanically in elevation by two servo motors. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS</span> Airborne ground surveillance aircraft based on Boeing 707 airframe

The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) airborne ground surveillance, battle management and command and control aircraft. It tracks ground vehicles and some aircraft, collects imagery, and relays tactical pictures to ground and air theater commanders. The aircraft was operated by both active duty USAF and Air National Guard units and also carried specially trained U.S. Army personnel as additional flight crew until its retirement in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grumman A-6 Intruder</span> 1960 attack strike aircraft family by Grumman

The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace and formerly operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synthetic-aperture radar</span> Form of radar used to create images of landscapes

Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target region to provide finer spatial resolution than conventional stationary beam-scanning radars. SAR is typically mounted on a moving platform, such as an aircraft or spacecraft, and has its origins in an advanced form of side looking airborne radar (SLAR). The distance the SAR device travels over a target during the period when the target scene is illuminated creates the large synthetic antenna aperture. Typically, the larger the aperture, the higher the image resolution will be, regardless of whether the aperture is physical or synthetic – this allows SAR to create high-resolution images with comparatively small physical antennas. For a fixed antenna size and orientation, objects which are further away remain illuminated longer – therefore SAR has the property of creating larger synthetic apertures for more distant objects, which results in a consistent spatial resolution over a range of viewing distances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euroradar CAPTOR</span> Captor by Euroradar as seen on the Eurofighter Typhoon (CAPTOR-M/E, Mechanical/AESA)

The Euroradar Captor is a next-generation mechanical multi-mode pulse Doppler radar designed for the Eurofighter Typhoon. Development of Captor led to the Airborne Multirole Solid State Active Array Radar (AMSAR) project which eventually produced the CAESAR, now known as Captor-E.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imaging radar</span> Application of radar which is used to create two-dimensional images

Imaging radar is an application of radar which is used to create two-dimensional images, typically of landscapes. Imaging radar provides its light to illuminate an area on the ground and take a picture at radio wavelengths. It uses an antenna and digital computer storage to record its images. In a radar image, one can see only the energy that was reflected back towards the radar antenna. The radar moves along a flight path and the area illuminated by the radar, or footprint, is moved along the surface in a swath, building the image as it does so.

Inverse synthetic-aperture radar (ISAR) is a radar technique using radar imaging to generate a two-dimensional high resolution image of a target. It is analogous to conventional SAR, except that ISAR technology uses the movement of the target rather than the emitter to create the synthetic aperture. ISAR radars have a significant role aboard maritime patrol aircraft to provide them with radar image of sufficient quality to allow it to be used for target recognition purposes. In situations where other radars display only a single unidentifiable bright moving pixel, the ISAR image is often adequate to discriminate between various missiles, military aircraft, and civilian aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AN/APG-66</span> Targeting radar designed for the F-16 aircraft

The AN/APG-66 radar is an X-band solid state medium range pulse-Doppler planar array radar originally designed by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation for use in early generations of the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Later F-16 variants use the AN/APG-68 or the AN/APG-83. This radar was employed in all domestic and export versions of the F-16A/B models throughout the production. Subsequent upgrades have been installed in many varying aircraft types including the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's C-550 Cessna Citation, US Navy P-3 Orion, and Piper PA-42 Cheyenne II's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AN/APG-63 radar family</span> Military aircraft all-weather multimode radar family

The AN/APG-63 and AN/APG-70 are a family of all-weather multimode radar systems designed by Hughes Aircraft for the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter. These X band pulse-Doppler radar systems are designed for both air-air and air-ground missions; they are able to look up at high-flying targets and down at low-flying targets without being confused by ground clutter. The systems can detect and track aircraft and small high-speed targets at distances beyond visual range down to close range, and at altitudes down to treetop level. The radar feeds target information into the aircraft's central computer for effective weapons delivery. For close-in dogfights, the radar automatically acquires enemy aircraft and projects this information onto the cockpit head-up display. The name is assigned from the Army Navy Joint Electronics Type Designation System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AN/APG-68</span> Radar system

The AN/APG-68 radar is a long range Pulse-Doppler radar designed by Westinghouse to replace AN/APG-66 radar in the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. The AN/APG-68 radar is now currently being replaced on US Air Force F-16C/D Block 40/42 and 50/52 by the AN/APG-83 AESA radar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AN/APG-77</span> Type of radar system

The AN/APG-77 is a multifunction low probability of intercept radar installed on the F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft. The radar was designed and initially built by Westinghouse and Texas Instruments, and production continued with their respective successors Northrop Grumman and Raytheon after acquisition.

The PS-05/A is a pulse-doppler radar currently used by the JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft. It weighs 156 kg and was developed by Ericsson in collaboration with GEC-Marconi, sharing some technology with the latter's Blue Vixen radar for the Sea Harrier.

Radar MASINT is a subdiscipline of measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) and refers to intelligence gathering activities that bring together disparate elements that do not fit within the definitions of signals intelligence (SIGINT), imagery intelligence (IMINT), or human intelligence (HUMINT).

The Emerson Electric AN/APQ-159 was an I band/J band radar designed to upgrade Emerson's simple AN/APQ-153 used in the Northrop F-5. It offered roughly double the range, increased off-boresight tracking angles, and considerably improved reliability. Originally intended to be replaced by the further improved AN/APQ-167, modernized F-5s have typically moved to the entirely new AN/APG-69 instead.

The AN/APG-67 is a multi-mode all-digital X band coherent pulse doppler radar originally developed by General Electric for the Northrop F-20 Tigershark program of the early 1980s. It offers a variety of air-to-air, air-to-ground, sea-search and mapping modes, and compatibility with most weapons used by the US Air Force in the 1980s.

The Northrop Grumman AN/ZPY-1 STARLite Small Tactical Radar - Lightweight is a small, lightweight synthetic aperture radar/GMTI radar used in tactical operations. The radar is under contract to the U.S. Army Communications and Electronics Command for its ERMP General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aerial System and is manufactured by Northrop Grumman. STARLite weighs 65 lb (29 kg)., occupies 1.2 cubic feet (34 L), and requires less than 750 W of power. The Army began to take delivery of the system in 2010. Also in 2010 the system was ready for deployment to the battlefield.

The AN/APY-10 is an American multifunction radar developed for the U.S. Navy's Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft. AN/APY-10 is the latest descendant of a radar family originally developed by Texas Instruments, and now Raytheon after it acquired the radar business of TI, for Lockheed P-3 Orion, the predecessor of P-8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AN/APQ-120</span> Aircraft fire control radar

The AN/APQ-120 was an aircraft fire control radar (FCR) manufactured by Westinghouse for the McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II. AN/APQ-120 has a long line of lineage, with its origin traced all the way back to Aero-13 FCR developed by the same company in the early 1950s. A total of half a dozen FCRs were tested and evaluated on the first 18 F-4s built, but they were soon replaced by later radars produced in great numbers, including AN/APQ-120.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AN/APS-154</span> Multifunction radar

The AN/APS-154 Advanced Airborne Sensor (AAS) is a multifunction radar installed on the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. The radar is built by Raytheon as a follow-on to their AN/APS-149 Littoral Surveillance Radar System (LSRS).

Norden Systems was an American manufacturer of radar systems.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "AN/APQ-92/112/129/148/156" . Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  2. "APQ-103". Archived from the original on 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2013-05-17.
  3. APS-130
  4. Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapons Systems 1991/1992 edition by Norman Friedman, Aug 15, 1991 ISBN   9780870212888
  5. APQ-173 Archived August 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  6. APY-3
  7. APY-6
  8. APY-7