When you are looking for a needle in a haystack, you need a big magnet. That's precisely what this radar is for. Big, long wavelengths, that paint a huge brush over the sky.
Think of radars like paint brushes. Fighter radars with high frequency X and Ku bands, they're meant for precise work, like small brushes making very precise touch ups, working on hard to get corners and trim.
Big AEW radars with long wavelengths are like big roller covers, designed to spread out and cover area but not as precise.
Stealth is designed mainly to beat X band radar which is what fighters and many SAMs use, because of its precise tracking. But like with light and all electromagnetic radiation, wavelengths don't bend all in the same way. If you try to bend for X bend radar, it will not get the same result with a lower or higher wavelength. Thus "stealth' is always a compromise, you're making a design bet.
A metric wave early warning radar like this can detect VLO targets, unfortunately, its tracking won't be as precise. That will be the job of another radar, the fire control set, and that task will be much harder.







Reply With Quote

Bookmarks