Country of origin | Soviet Union |
---|---|
Introduced | 1970 |
Type | Early warning radar |
Frequency | VHF |
Range | 250 km (160 mi) |
Altitude | 35 km (22 mi) |
Azimuth | 360° |
Elevation | −5°–+15° |
Precision | 1 km (0.6 mi) (range) |
Power | 260 kW |
The P-18 or 1RL131Terek (also referred to by the NATO reporting name "Spoon Rest D" in the west) is a 2D VHF radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.
The P-18 early warning radar is a development of the earlier P-12 radar, the P-18 radar being accepted into service in 1970 following the successful completion of the program. [1] The P-18 was developed by the SKB Design Bureau, a division of State Plant No.197 named after V. I. Lenin who developed the previous P-12, the predecessor of the current Nizhny Novgorod Research Institute of Radio Engineering (NNIIRT). In 1979 a new secondary IFF radar the 1L22 "Parol" entered into service to complement the P-18, unlike the previous secondary radar NRS-12 (NATO "Score Board") the new interrogator was carried on a separate truck. [2]
The P-18 is still in service today and was widely exported, many companies offer upgrade options to improve the performance and reliability of the radar and to replace out-dated components. NNIIRT offers an upgrade package for the P-18 which includes the installation of a solid state transmitter and receiver, automatic jammer suppression equipment as well as PC based signal processing, test and interface equipment. [1] These upgraded variants of the P-18 can be referred to as the P-18M, P-18-1 or P-18-2 depending on the manufacturer, modification and radar nationality. The P-18 was superseded by the 1L13 "Nebo" VHF surveillance radar in 1984. Currently, the Russian-Belarusian company Defense Systems provides upgrades for P-18 radars. [3] Also Retia, a Czech civil and military electronics company, developed its own, fundamental modernisation of the P-18 under the name ReVEAL. It is now solid state, digitized and fitted with upgraded IFF system, while allowing to utilise also the legacy IFF. The whole equipment is repackaged into a standard container and already sold in several dozen units. [4]
The P-18 shares many similarities with the earlier P-12NA and like the P-12 it is mounted on two Ural-4320 truck chassis. The P-18 features many improvements over the P-12 including increased performance, precision and reliability. [2] The radar was developed to work independently or as part of a C3 system directing SAM and aircraft to hostile targets, the truck mounted design provided the radar with high mobility. [5]
The P-18 uses a single antenna accomplishing both transmission and reception. The antenna is composed of sixteen Yagi antennas mounted in sets of eight with one set above the other. The radar antenna is mounted on the truck used to transport it improving mobility and the radar also features a mechanism which allows the antenna height and elevation to be altered during operation. [1] Azimuth is scanned mechanically by the antenna with a rotation of 10 r.p.m, the original P-18 used three indicators, including two plan position indicators in addition to a back-up A-scope. [5] Like the P-12 the radar features automatic frequency control with four pre-set operating frequencies, moving target indicator to eliminate passive clutter and active jamming, the radar could also display tracks from another radar it was paired with. The original P-18 used a coaxial cavity resonator transmitter, vacuum tube receiver with transistor based preamplifier and a vacuum tube/pin diode based duplexer. [5] A secondary radar for IFF is generally used in conjunction with the P-18, either the NRS-12 or the later 1L22 "Parol".
There are a few modifications and variants of the P-18 radar that allow it to be still in use and most of them substantially extend original capabilities.
Country of origin | Poland |
---|---|
Manufacturer | PIT-Radwar |
Introduced | 2023 |
Type | Early warning radar |
Frequency | VHF (30 to 300 MHz) |
RPM | up to 10 |
Range | 900 km (560 mi) or 600 km (370 mi) |
Altitude | 160 km (99 mi) or 120 km (75 mi) |
Height | 6 m (20 ft) |
Width | 14 m (46 ft) |
Azimuth | 360° (antenna rotation) or 90° (stationary; AESA) |
Elevation | 25° or 45° (360° rotation)0–40° or 0–50° (90° AESA) |
Precision | 30 m (98 ft) in range and 0.3° in azimuth |
The P-18PL [6] [7] is a modernized Polish road-mobile, long-range, three-dimensional (3D), very high frequency (VHF) early warning radar with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology. The radar is particularly remarkable for its enhanced anti-stealth capability and is somewhat similar to the Russian Nebo-SVU radar.
Key features:
P-18ML [8] – ground-based long-range VHF surveillance radar P-18ML is offered as the modernized follow-on to its prototype, the analogue P-18. Produced by a private Lithuanian company LiTak-Tak. [9]
Radar features:
As a result of modernization the radar's detection performance is efficiently improved. Modernized radar features automatic tracking capability as well as data receiving from other radar sensors. Data can be exchanged over a variety of communication channels in approved format. The P-18ML is known to be in use by Ukrainian armed forces. [10]
Upgraded local version P-18 Malachite is based on KrAZ chassis.
During development of modernization electronic set for P-12M radar it was developed digital data receiver that could be used for both P-12 and P-18 radar modernization by Serbian company Iritel. Today that set is in use by Serbian Air Force and Air Defence for modernized P-12 and P-18 radar. [11] This data receiver enables use of remote control for radar using optical cable at distances from 100 to 500 meters.
P-18-2 - A P-18 modernization. [12]
P-18T - An upgraded P-18 on a KamAZ-43118 chassis. [13] [14]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(August 2023) |
The P-18 was operated by the Soviet Union from 1970 and though it has since become obsolete it was passed down to successor states after the fall of the Soviet Union. The radar continues to serve in many client and third world states who received the P-18 from the Soviet Union by export. Many P-18 have been upgraded and continue to serve in the military and air traffic control role across the world.
The P-18 has served in several conflicts in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. One unusual feature of the P-18 is its counter-stealth capability. Since the radar uses metre-length wave VHF, the shaping features and radar absorbent materials used on stealth aircraft are less efficient, allowing VHF based radars to detect targets at a greater range than centimeter or millimeter wave radar which stealth aircraft are optimized against. [24] The presence of a P-18 radar in Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War contributed to the loss of a US F-117 Nighthawk during the conflict. [25]
Stealth aircraft are designed to avoid detection using a variety of technologies that reduce reflection/emission of radar, infrared, visible light, radio frequency (RF) spectrum, and audio, all collectively known as stealth technology. The F-117 Nighthawk was the first operational aircraft explicitly designed around stealth technology. Other examples of stealth aircraft include the B-2 Spirit, the B-21 Raider, the F-22 Raptor, the F-35 Lightning II, the Chengdu J-20, and the Sukhoi Su-57.
The Kolchuga passive sensor is an electronic-warfare support measures (ESM) system developed in the Soviet Union and manufactured in Ukraine. Its detection range is limited by line-of-sight but may be up to 800 km (500 mi) for very high altitude, very powerful emitters. Frequently referred to as Kolchuga Radar, the system is not really a radar, but an ESM system comprising three or four receivers, deployed tens of kilometres apart, which detect and track aircraft by triangulation and multilateration of their RF emissions.
The S-125 Neva/Pechora is a Soviet surface-to-air missile system that was designed by Aleksei Isaev to complement the S-25 and S-75. It has a shorter effective range and lower engagement altitude than either of its predecessors and also flies slower, but due to its two-stage design it is more effective against more maneuverable targets. It is also able to engage lower flying targets than the previous systems, and being more modern it is much more resistant to ECM than the S-75. The 5V24 (V-600) missiles reach around Mach 3 to 3.5 in flight, both stages powered by solid fuel rocket motors. The S-125, like the S-75, uses radio command guidance. The naval version of this system has the NATO reporting name SA-N-1 Goa and original designation M-1 Volna.
The Tor is an all-weather, low-to medium-altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system designed for destroying airplanes, helicopters, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and short-range ballistic threats (anti-munitions). Originally developed by the Soviet Union under the GRAU designation 9K330 Tor, the system is commonly known by its NATO reporting name, SA-15 "Gauntlet". A navalized variant was developed under the name 3K95 "Kinzhal", also known as the SA-N-9 "Gauntlet". Tor was designed to shoot down guided weapons like the AGM-86 ALCM and BGM-34 day and night, in bad weather and jamming situations. Tor can detect targets while on the move. The vehicle must stop intermittently when firing, although trials have been conducted with the goal of eliminating this restriction.
The AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel is an X-band electronically steered pulse-Doppler 3D radar system used to alert and cue Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) weapons to the locations of hostile targets approaching their front line forces. It is currently produced by Raytheon Missiles & Defense.
SMART-L is a long-range naval search radar introduced in 2002 by Thales Nederland, formerly Hollandse Signaalapparaten (Signaal).
Type 517 radar is believed to be an A-band/VHF air search radar widely deployed on PLAN surface vessels with 4 antennas in two crossed-brace supported pairs, one above the other, mounted in pairs on each side of a single tubular support carried on the turning gear.
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 Zhuk are a family of Russian all-weather multimode airborne radars developed by NIIR Phazotron for multi-role combat aircraft such as the MiG-29 and the Su-27. The PESA versions were also known as the Sokol.
The Bars (Leopard) is a family of Russian all-weather multimode airborne radars developed by the Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Design for multi-role combat aircraft such as the Su-27, Su-30 and the MiG-29.
The "Pegmantit 3" or P-3 was an early VHF radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.
The "Pegmantit 8" or P-8 was an early 2D VHF radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.
The "Pegmantit 10" or P-10 was an early 2D VHF radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.
The P-12 "Yenisei" was an early VHF radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.
The P-14 is a 2D VHF radar that was developed and operated by the Soviet Union.
The P-70 or "Lena-M" was a static 2D VHF radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.
The P-19"Danube"1RL134 is a 2D UHF radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union. The radar was also known by the name "Renata" in Poland and "Dunai" in the former German Democratic Republic.
The P-30"Khrustal", also referred to by the NATO reporting name "Big Mesh" in the west, is a 2D E band/F band radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.
The P-35, also referred to by the NATO reporting name "Bar Lock" in the west, is a 2D E band/F band radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.
The Nebo-SVU is a very high frequency (VHF) multi-functional radar and the first radar with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) antenna operating at meter wavelengths. The radar was introduced in 2001 as a replacement for the Nebo-SV. It can locate aircraft and other flying objects with 0.1 m2 radar cross-section at a distance of 100 km (62 mi).