This is rather off topic, but you asked.
A little about Tornado GR4 & AESA
Sorry for the long post I could not get a live link back to the original data on a public network. I have also used cut ‘n paste from posts I have placed on other forums and have included the dates of the posts.
Hence it is a little disjoined, perhaps I should have re-written it, but life is too short.
MOD Awards Contract to QinetiQ Primed Team to Demonstrate Advanced Radar Targeting System (ARTS) on a Tornado GR4A
(Source: QinetiQ; issued Feb. 24, 2006)
The Ministry of Defence has awarded a contract to QinetiQ to demonstrate the advanced targeting capability offered by Electronically Scanned (E-Scan) radar technology. QinetiQ has teamed with SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems and BAE Systems Customer Solutions & Support to integrate an Active Electronically-Scanned Array (AESA) on a Tornado GR4A for assessment by the RAF in 2007.
With growing interest in extending the in-service life of the GR4, the project will explore the use of Active E-Scan Array (AESA) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in an air-to-surface role, including real-time target imaging, with a view to replacing the installed mechanically-scanned terrain following/ground mapping radar system originally designed in the 1970s.
"We anticipate that ARTS will offer considerable improvements in performance and significantly help reduce maintenance cost when compared with the current in-service solution," explained Andrew Sleigh, MD of QinetiQ's defence business. "By replacing the mechanically scanned antenna with an array made using discrete transmit/receive (T/R) modules we can achieve greater range and target resolution whilst at the same time benefiting from an inherently more robust design."
ARTS benefits from a range of Ministry of Defence and UK industry funded research programmes in the fields of AESA and SAR technologies, and will provide a continuing route for the rapid exploitation of future research and development. The programme also represents the first use of the Tornado Research Exploitation Vehicle (TREV) concept that will support MoD's aspiration to achieve faster exploitation of research by the front-line.
The contract was placed by the Defence Procurement Agency's (DPA's) Sensors, Avionics, Navigation and Air Electronic Warfare Integrated Project Team (SANS & Air EW IPT) on behalf of MoD's Research Acquisition Organisation (RAO) as part of the Output 6 Research Programme sponsored by the DPA's Future Business Group (FBG). ARTS will also be supported by the Defence Logistic Organisation's (DLO's) Tornado IPT. Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) will provide MoD with independent technical advice on the programme.
ARTS will run in parallel to the multi-national Advanced Multi-Mode Solid-State Airborne Radar (AMSAR) programmes and will focus on specific areas of capability development (SAR and Automatic Target Recognition (ATR)). ARTS will also focus on platform integration and aims to raise System Readiness Levels (SRLs). It is anticipated that AMSAR will continue to provide a programme through which to raise Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and explore the potential for AESA to contribute to other capability areas.
February 24 2006, 5:22 PM
Background.
QinetiQ are the prime contractor. Having invented the Tornado Research Exploitation Vehicle (TREV) concept.
BAE Systems Customer Solutions & Support (Part of BA North America, but the Tornado radar project is based in Edinburgh) are the design authority for the existing radar and provide extended 2nd line, and 3rd/4th line maintenance for the radar.
SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems will be responsible for developing the AESA (Also based in Edinburgh).
The radar fitted to the Tornado GR1 was based on a Texas Instruments multimode pulse Doppler radar (having ground mapping & terrain following modes). It was “built- to-print” the work being shared by Germany, Italy and the UK. This radar is very old (originally designed in the 70s). The radar currently fitted to the GR4 is virtually unchanged from the original fit.
Essentially there are two radars one for ground mapping and the other for terrain following that can fly the aircraft automatically at low level.
It is likely the only the ground mapping radar will be modified to introduce an AESA.
Recent and Ongoing Updates
The Tornado has recently gone through a Mid-Life Update program, which has introduced lots of new equipment including a new main computer and a MIL 1553B /1760 databus, resulting in the GR4 version.
Additional developments are ongoing.
The Tornado Advanced Radar Display Information System (TARDIS) will replace existing radar projected map displays used in the Tornado GR4 aircraft and will go into service with the Royal Air Force by December 2006. This provides a new Radar Video/Map Processor & Navigator’s LCD display and a Pilot’s Multi-functional display.
Work Required to Integrate AESA
Assuming that only the ground mapping radar is to be modified.
Remove the Mechanically Scanned Antenna, Transmitter and Receiver.
Install the AESA, Radar Processor (to control the scan and process the returning signals). An interface box of some sort may be required, including power control etc.
(It might be possible to use the Captor Processor as the basis of the AESA Radar Processor).
Obviously there would have to significant changes to the aircraft wiring.
Having revisited this problem the best solution is to rip out both radars and fully integrate the AESA Captor radar.
Areas of Concern
AESAs are power hungry and not very efficient. So there could be problems with Power supplies and Cooling.
The radome design is old. Modern design techniques allow the radome to be tuned to suit the performance of the radar and to be relatively stealthy at other frequencies. There could also be problems with aberration and flash lobes.
February 25 2006, 8:01 PM
A comment on CAESAR and the type of substrate likely to be used for future radarsr.
When designing CAESAR I think they used a multi-track approach using what TR modules were available to develop the basic system while in parallel designing new TR modules based on a more modern technology.
The key Professor John Roulston (the Chief Designer of Captor, Blue Vixen and Blue Fox).
Check out these sites and “join-up-the dots”.
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=265602004
http://www.iee.org/oncomms/pn/radar/Roulston.pdf
http://www.filtronic.com/directors.php
http://www.roke.co.uk/news/article.asp?id=59
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4661300.stm
TIARA QinetiQ Test Aircraft
"Tornado Integrated Avionics Research Aircraft TIARA: - F.2 airframe modified as the Tornado Integrated Avionics Research Aircraft to serve as a test bed for advanced fighter technologies including helmet-mounted sights, a holographic HUD, and hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controls; 1one aircraft (ZD902) has been converted
The AI24 Foxhunter radar normally fitted in Tornado F3s, is replaced with a GEC-Marconi. Avionics Blue Vixen multi-function AI radar."
I remembered that we had won the order but couldn't recall the name of the programme. We had real problems finding enough bits to build the thing.
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/fighter/tornado_adv/
http://www.sae.org/aeromag/techupdate_12-00/techupdate7.htm
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0736814/M/
Vixen-500 could easily be installed in the Tornado GR4, but it does not have all of the A-G modes required. The volume occupied by the old radar is huge so a much larger radar than the Vixen-500 could be fitted.
The advantage of using the Captor Typhoon Tranche 2 radar is that it has already been developed and can easily be updated to Tranche 3 standard. Based on the CAESAR prototype the array should have 1,500+ T/R modules and with a radome the size of the GR4 it could easily have many more, the technology is scalable.
If Tranche 3 is given the go ahead then including spares something like 1,000 radars will be built adding another 100 –150 for the GR4 would be no trouble and as the Tranche 2 radar has already been developed it should be a cost effect approach. (And that’s not adding another 120 radars for upgrades to the Saudi Tornados).
However they may go for another cheaper radar, but it will be over the dead bodies of the senior engineers as they have worked on all the radars for the Tornado and Typhoon and think that this would be the best deal for the RAF and less hassle for SELEX.
p.s. I still think that the GR4 is not the best deal for the RAAF, if you want to go down that route I suggest two modifications; first change the radar to the Captor Tranche 3 standard and next change the airframe to a Typhoon.
Chris