EuroRADAR CAPTOR

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Eurofighter Typhoon with a model of the phase-controlled CAPTOR-E

The EuroRADAR CAPTOR is the on-board radar of the Eurofighter Typhoon , which is manufactured by the EuroRADAR consortium, consisting of BAE Systems , Airbus Defense and Space and Selex ES . After a turbulent and politically shaped development history, the first series radar was delivered in 2003. A mechanically swiveled antenna made of CFRP was chosen to reduce risk . Nevertheless, new operating modes for non-cooperative target identification of aircraft and an automatic target search and identification in air-to-ground mode have been implemented. In order to achieve better performance parameters, an active phase-controlled radar has been worked on since 1991. The newE-Scan Radar should be produced from 2015 and will have other innovative operating modes and technologies in addition to electronic beam swiveling.

history

Beginnings

In June 1985 discussions began between various groups to explore the possibility of cooperation for the EFA Radar. Great Britain selected Ferranti as the leading contract partner, Germany AEG-Telefunken and Italy FIAR . Spain, which had no radar experience, only played a minor role. The latter later selected Eesa as the main contractual partner . Towards the end of the month, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain to develop a joint radar for the EFA. At the time, France already indicated that it wanted to withdraw from the program. The French company Thomson-CSF was faced with a dilemma because it would have liked to participate in an EFA radar. In 1987 Thomson-CSF negotiated with Ferranti to secure work shares. Specifically, the traveling wave tube should be delivered; possibly the same one that should also be used in the Rafale. In March 1987 Ferranti and AEG sent their offers to Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH.

An AN / APG-65 during maintenance

Ferranti presented its ECR-90 as early as 1986, based on the Blue Vixen, AEG offered the MSD-2000 "Emerald", which was based on the AN / APG-65 . Ferranti's main argument was that a European combat aircraft should also be equipped with a European radar. Ferranti has worked with Thompson-CSF , Inisel and FIAR on the development of the radar since 1983 . France withdrew with Thompson-CSF in June 1985, and AEG followed a year later. AEG wanted to offer a system based on the APG-65 because the company already had the production license for it. It was still speculated whether Thorn-EMI would offer the AN / APG-68 , which was not the case. Both providers submitted two-part offers: One that fully met the tender and a slimmed-down low-cost variant. Ferranti and FIAR offered the ECR-90 and the Super Vixen, AEG and GEC Marconi the MSD-2000 and the APG-65. Both high-tech offers were too expensive and the low-cost alternatives were rated as unsatisfactory.

So a new tender was launched. This time the performance requirements were slimmed down, and the manufacturers were asked how the costs could be reduced. The requirements were also less stringent to fuel the ingenuity of the engineers. In February 1988 the two new offers were available:

  • ECR-90: The European Collaborative Radar 90 was offered by Ferranti in the variants -90, -90A, -90B. The location range was always the same, only the skills should be integrated little by little. The main argument was again that the radar would make up a significant part of the cost of the EFA, and thus a European in-house development would enable higher added value in Germany. To reduce risk, the ECR-90 should be based on the Blue Vixen des Sea Harrier, which was already AMRAAM-compatible to send target updates to the missiles. For the Blue Vixen, a planar antenna made of a light metal alloy and an aluminized carbon fiber plate were investigated, and the latter was discarded because of the higher costs and uncertainties with regard to durability. For the ECR-90 the choice was left open. The antenna drive was based on the Blue Vixen and PS-05 of the Saab 39 , and corrected pitching and rolling movements by samarium-cobalt motors with 0.5 PS each. There was no roll control, roll angles were compensated electronically. The coupled-cavity traveling wave tube should be supplied by Selenia or Thomson-CSF. The signal processing and processors were taken over by the Blue Vixen. Since the software development of the Blue Vixen accounted for about 80% of the development costs, and about 50% of the software for the ECR-90 should be taken over, savings were seen here. However, Blue Vixen only had 11 of the 31 required radar modes. The 32-bit signal processor should be twice as fast and be supplied by Hudges, IBM or Ericsson. The Blue Vixen's D80 reached around 500 MIPS . The computing modules were housed in metal cassettes, which acted as a heat sink and were flowed through by air in the middle. While the Blue Vixen consisted of 13,790 parts, the ECR-90 should consist of 13,000.
  • MSD-2000: The Multimode Silent Radar 2000 from AEG and GEC Marconi was based on the APG-65. This was consistent, the APG-65 was planned for the EFA predecessor TKF-90, which is why the weight, volume and energy specifications of the EFA radar were also adopted by the TKF-90. Marconi also came to the conclusion that a new development would not be possible in the time available, which is why the APG-65 of the F-18 was accepted as the basis. This already had 28 of the required 31 radar modes, the AMRAAM capability was already available, so that 80% of the software could be adopted. Another 10% had to be reprogrammed and another 10% reprogrammed. The additional programming almost exclusively concerned the three missing modes "Non-Cooperative Target Recognition", "Visual Identification", and "Slaved air-to-air acquisition". Otherwise, the number of targets in TWS mode and the ECCM capability should be improved. Compared to the APG-65, the antenna should be enlarged from 68 cm to 75 cm and the radiation output doubled. The receiver sensitivity should be increased, the antenna should be equipped with D / F-band dipoles for a NATO IFF system, and the signal processor should be replaced with a faster model from Marconi. In order not to let the antenna speed drop, new samarium-cobalt motors were planned for the antenna drive. Although the transmitter power should be doubled compared to the APG-65, the transmission power should always be kept as low as possible to avoid detection. The plug-in cards should be reduced from 21 to 7, but 25% of the computing and storage capacity should remain free. The remaining 17 free spaces would then be available as potential for growth. The radar processor should be taken over from the Foxhunter radar of the Tornado ADV , based on the Motorola 68020 with 32 bit, in order to increase the computing power by 100%. Overall, less than 15% of the radar would come from the US.

The radar software, like the entire EFA software, should be programmed in Ada. The USA was rather critical of the technology transfer required for the MSD-2000 when it was negotiated in May 1988, but nevertheless agreed in August of that year. The schedule now provided for the first airworthy radars to be completed in 1992, since the EFA's maiden flight was planned for 1991, and series production to begin in 1996. Spain now endorsed the MSD-2000 as the cost and timeframe seemed the most realistic. After October 1988 the decision was just around the corner, whereby the Ferranti ECR-90 won the race but was not chosen.

Because Germany did not agree with the decision, so that in mid-1989 the then Federal Defense Minister Gerhard Stoltenberg (CDU) met with Tom King (Tory) for talks. It was agreed to commission a study as to whether the MSD-2000 could not be adapted to the requirements of the British. At the same time, the UK Department of Defense started a study on how partner countries without Germany could develop their own radar for the EFA. The MSD-2000 study turned out negative, yet Germany refused to give in on this question. As an agreement could still not be reached after 18 months, the UK and Germany asked the industry to find a solution. In December 1989 Ferranti held talks with Telefunken System Technik (formerly AEG until Daimler took over the company) to work on the ECR-90 and to dissolve the German resistance. At the same time, the industry warned politicians of rising costs because of the delays. The Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH then sent letters to all four partner countries and the NEFMA , in which it was indicated that all additional costs would be passed on to them. This was important because the EFA-Radar was to be awarded as a fixed-price contract and the companies involved were to be reimbursed for the delays. In early 1990, GEC Marconi, who was working on the MSD-2000, swallowed Ferranti, who designed the ECR-90. Plessey, which manufactured the EFA's rocket warning system, was taken over by a consortium of GEC Marconi and Siemens. Such a relaxation was becoming apparent on the radar front. In early 1990, GEC-Ferranti was finally declared the winner of the EFA radar competition and awarded a £ 300m contract. GEC-Ferranti negotiated with Ericsson in mid-1990 to separate the company from the Euroradar consortium of the ECR-90 and to use the Motorola 68020 processors of the MSD-2000 instead. In a comparison, its signal processing turned out to be much more efficient. This, in turn, was seen by Germany as a problem, because the redesign of the ECR-90 made delays and further cost increases inevitable.

At NATO level

F-16C with CFTs and "Vogelschlitzern"

Before the Vietnam War, military planners assumed that future long-range aerial battles would be decided with long-range air-to-air missiles. The Vietnam War and the aircraft used there showed, however, that this idea was pure fantasy: Since radar devices only show one point on the screen and shooting at unidentified objects was always prohibited in every war and with every type of weapon, visual identification was necessary. This, together with the unreliable air-to-air missiles, meant that almost every aerial combat in corner combat began and ended.

The new F-16 combat aircraft were therefore partially equipped with the Teledyne Mk.XII Advanced IFF System, which was designated as APX-109. The system sends a query to the target, which responds with a response sequence. Both take place in the low L-band, with a request at 1030 MHz and a response at 1090 MHz. For this purpose, four antennas were installed in front of the cockpit canopy, which are known in the jargon as "bird slicers".

In order to get a NATO uniform IFF system, the USA, Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain joined forces in the early 1980s to develop the NATO Identification System (NIS). It should enable a friend-foe query between air targets, ground targets and between air and ground targets. The system makes a request in the J-band, the answer is given in the L-band at around 1000 MHz. The choice of response frequency in particular caused delays at the NIS, as Europeans insisted on the E / F band while the US preferred the L band. After the USA was able to show in a study that ran from 1982 to 1983 that the interference immunity and interference in the D-band was no worse than in the E / F-band, which the Europeans had feared, only Germany insisted on the E / F band. As a compromise, it was proposed to integrate both L-band and E / F-band antennas. The ratification of STANAG 4182 (not to be confused with the STANAG 4579, which in K a working band) therefore dragged on until also Germany, the L-band accepted.

When the NATO Research Study Group (RSG-12) began its work in 1984, the lack of opportunities for non-cooperative target identification ( NCTI ) was recognized as the greatest deficit. To this end, a number of NATO research programs have been started under STANAG 4162 in order to close this capability gap. The work was carried out in four phases, all results are NATO SECRET :

  • First, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Great Britain, the USA and the SHAPE Technical Center discussed which technical possibilities would be appropriate for the NCTI. High Range Resolution (HRR), Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR), the combination of both, Jet Engine Modulation (JEM), derived from Helicopter Rotor Modulation (HERM), the modulation of the backscatter through the vibration of the airframe, the fluctuation backscattering in general, polarimetry , resonance techniques and non-linear scattering effects. The analysis of turbine blades (JEM) was found to be the simplest variant and selected. HRR and ISAR were also seen as showing promise, but viewed as problematic due to their dependence on different external load configurations. The first phase, which ran from 1984 to 1988, was thus completed.
  • The second phase ran from 1988 to 1992, and was intended to implement the JEM-NCTI mode. Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Great Britain, the USA and the SHAPE Technical Center worked together for this purpose. For this purpose, the TIME experiment (Target Identification by Modulation Exploitation) was carried out in WTD 81 from April 3 to 28, 1989 : 23 aircraft and 16 different types of aircraft were irradiated in the L, S, C, X and K u bands to create a database. The experiment showed that JEM is a very powerful tool for non-cooperative target identification, but requires a relatively high signal-to-noise ratio .
  • The third phase ran from 1992 to 1996, and was intended to implement the ISAR-NCTI mode to avoid the disadvantages of the JEM. Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Great Britain, the USA and NC3A worked together for this. The aim was to create radar images of the targets both in the transverse direction (2D ISAR) and in the longitudinal direction (HRR). To this end, the FGAN organized a workshop on January 28th and 29th, 1993 in order to better understand one- and two-dimensional radar imaging. RSG-12 held test flights in Germany, Great Britain and France in 1992, where 9 different types of aircraft were flown against the BYSON (DERA) and TIRA (FGAN) radars. BYSON collected HRR data, TIRA for HRR and ISAR. In October 1993, further test flights were undertaken in the Netherlands to get a 2D ISAR target library. The participating radars were FELSTAR (TNO), TIRA (FGAN), MPR (DERA) and RAMSES (ONERA), as well as 15 different aircraft, including 13 different types. The data obtained were of high quality and were exchanged between the participants. In the final discussion as to whether HRR or 2D-ISAR was the NCTI method of choice, there was a tendency towards HRR: The method showed good identification possibilities in all directions and only required a moderate signal-to-noise ratio.
  • The fourth phase ran from 1996 to 1999, and was designed to improve the ISAR-NCTI mode to explore problems such as autofocus and maneuvering targets. In addition, methods for signature modeling for enemy aircraft should be researched and the information fusion from JEM, HRR and 2D-ISAR should be examined. The use of polarimetry was also an issue. Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Great Britain, the USA and NC3A worked together for this. For this purpose, the CARMINA (Correlated Attitude Radar Measurements of Images of Non-cooperative Aircraft) experiment was carried out in the Dutch, French and British airspace with six aircraft from November 1997 to February 1998. The radars TIRA (FGAN), BYSON (DERA), MERIC (ONERA), HYPERBRAHMS (DGE) and FELSTAR (TNO) were involved. These data were compared with the radar data, which were made from aircraft models (real and as a computer model).

From 1999 to 2004 the well-known countries Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Great Britain and the USA carried out the NATO RTO program “Countermeasures to Imaging Radars” . The aim was to develop disruptive techniques to disrupt or manipulate SAR, ISAR and HRR operating modes in order, among other things, to prevent non-cooperative target identification. Coherent jammers can manipulate images (e.g. make an F-16 look like a C-130) or obscure images by generating noise.

Delivery and further development

After the amicable agreement, the ECR-90 was developed for series production by the Euroradar consortium, consisting of GEC Marconi and FIAR (today Selex ES), ENOSA (today Indra) and DASA (today Airbus Defense & Space). A BAC 1-11 was also used as a flying development platform. The development steps went from this to a built-in model, which was first flown in the development aircraft DA5 ( Development Aircraft ). Air-to-air radar modes were tested first, then air-to-air modes under the influence of ECM , and finally air-to-ground modes. The tests were carried out in close coordination with the tests of sensor fusion (AIS), weapons and navigation. In May 1996 it was found that some of the radar energy could not leave the radome because the Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) caused flashbacks. The problem was solved by changing the antenna from vertical to horizontal polarization and redesigning the radome. The main problem was that the design of the radome was done by British Aerospace and the work was split between AEG in Germany, Alenia in Italy and CASA in Spain. In retrospect, it was found that it would have been better to outsource the orders for radar and radome to a company. The main responsibility for the radar was therefore transferred from DASA to BAE Systems. As a PR measure - Germany is currently trying to exit the project - test flights were carried out in September with the ECR-90 and high-ranking government representatives from all four partner countries in the BAC 1-11 to show that the radar was meeting the performance targets. The radar did not yet have any corrections, these were only implemented in DA5, which flew with the ECR-90 for the first time in November 1996.

Two Typhoon turning

Analyzes that were carried out on the European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) at the end of the 1980s showed that the detection range of the ECR-90 radar would be reduced to less than 9 km using well-known Soviet stealth technology and effective distance jammers. In order to achieve better performance parameters, GEC Marconi and Thompson-CSF, who developed the radar for Eurofighter and Rafale, respectively, concluded a cooperation in 1991 to develop AESA technology . In May 1995, Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) also negotiated into the consortium to develop an AESA radar called AMSAR (Active-array Multi-role Solid-state Airborne Radar), after two 5-watt radars at the end of 1994 -Modules were manufactured. Work on AMSAR began in 1996, and flight tests have already been scheduled for 2002. The British Future Offensive Air System (FOAS), which at that time was still being considered as a French-British-German joint project and as a tornado replacement, should also use this technology to carry small radar systems at the wing roots, fore fuselage and stern in order to block out the field of vision increase. This would also increase flexibility in combat, as opponents could be located and shot at with missiles without pointing the aircraft's nose at them. This would also make it possible to increase the F-pole distance, which describes the distance between the target and the launch platform when the rocket hits the target.

In 1999 the development aircraft DA4 and DA5 flew with the production version of the ECR-90 for the first time, from then on only the sensor fusion was worked on. On June 13, 2003, the first series-produced Eurofighter was finally presented to the public. The Bundeswehr accepted the machine on August 4th of the same year. At the start of delivery, the ECR-90C was renamed CAPTOR-C. The development of the AESA radar for the Eurofighter was then only carried out by the ministries; a specific development contract was not issued. The Euroradar is therefore driving development with its own funds. A radar with a swiveling antenna is planned to increase the field of vision. In 2002 the Euroradar consortium financed the development of the CAESAR demonstrator ( Captor AESA Radar ). The CAPTOR-C was chosen as the basis. After almost three years of development, the first test flight on board the BAC 1-11 took place on February 24, 2006. On May 8, 2007, the Eurofighter Development Aircraft 5 (DA5) flew with the CAESAR for the first time. The new radar consisted of 1424 transmitters which, due to their power density , had to be liquid-cooled . The development of the CAPTOR-E with an inclined antenna started on July 1, 2010, flight test models should be ready by 2013 and series models should be available from 2015. The costs for this are being advanced by the industry and are to be repaid later by the Eurofighter partner countries, as there are currently no government funds. The UK Department of Defense eventually funded flight tests with the prototype known as CAPTOR-E, which will use GaAs-based modules. The more advanced GaN technology was planned for the later series version, which is to fly from 2015. From spring 2013 a prototype of the CAPTOR-E was installed in IPA5, which flew for the first time in early March 2014, several months ahead of schedule. At Farnborough Air Show that year, the UK signed an additional £ 72 million contract to run country-specific e-scan tests. Officials from the four partner countries were also present to underline the importance of the project. The contract will be concluded in 2014. On November 13, 2014, the budget committee approved the German share of EUR 340 million for the total of EUR 1 billion in the CAPTOR-E development. The contract between the four partner nations was signed on November 19th.

overview

Since combat aircraft-based radars combined a long range with independence from the weather, radar development made rapid progress after the war. The FuG 240 "Berlin" already had all the essential features of today's models. From the 1970s, the look-down / shoot-down capability was added to distinguish the radar echoes of moving objects (preferably other aircraft) from radar echoes generated by ground reflection. Permanent management by GCI was no longer necessary. The F-4 Phantom was the first fighter aircraft that could rely solely on its own radar.

To counter the increasing threat posed by radars, anti-radar air-to-air missiles, electronic countermeasures (ECM) and stealth technology have been developed. Anti-radar guided missiles such as the Russian R-27P or the American Sparrow-based Brazo control the target's radar emissions, which either directly or indirectly reach the viewfinder of the weapon. From April 1974, test shots were carried out with the Brazo, with the missile either aiming at a distant aerial target from the front or a low-flying drone from behind. Although not explicitly mentioned, the missile will approach the target in low flight from behind through the backscatter , which generates main and sidelobes on the ground. After the passive Sparrow variant Brazo as well as the infrared-controlled version AIM-7R fell victim to the budget, the Joint Dual Role Air Dominance Missile (JDRADM) overtook the AGM-88 and AIM-120 through an active / passive radar-guided air-to-air / Should replace the surface missile, 2013 the same fate.

Electronic countermeasures, on the other hand, try to make the work of the opposing radar more difficult by subjecting the radar to impulse response interference or noise interference. The latter reduces the location range of the radar because the signal-to-noise ratio is worsened. The result is the same as with stealth technology, only that stealth technology works purely passively and the reduced range is not noticed by the enemy while the active interference is discovered. However, stealth technology only protects its own platform, while jammers benefit all targets that are within the detection range of the radar.

The Raptor's AN / APG-77 is the first radar with an HPM and high-speed data link operating mode

Modern radars are designed as an active electronically scanned array . The radar consists of several hundred small transmit / receive modules (TRM), which can be controlled independently of each other in order to electronically pivot the main lobe. Due to the independent working method, several signal lobes can be generated, or all modules work with different frequencies in order to use the radar as a very powerful noise jammer. The F / A-18E / F's AN / APG-79 was the first radar to have this capability. In principle, this is only possible in the transmission band of the radar, so X-band radars can only interfere with X-band radars. If the target comes closer, the reflection of the radar echo on the aircraft will at some point be strong enough to be distinguished from the noise of the jammer. This distance is known as the burn-through range , below which noise interference is useless. However, the power density of the radar beam increases the closer you get to the antenna. If a certain distance is not reached, the AESA radar can be used as an energy weapon ( High Power Microwave, HPM ). Although the US military-industrial complex declares for marketing reasons that the AN / APG-77 and -81 of the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning could “grill” enemy sensors, the effective radiation output of fighter aircraft radars is too low to achieve the necessary Field strength can be reached over 250 m. However, through a clever selection of the transmission pulses and pulse repetition frequencies , currents can be induced in hostile networks or processors even at significantly lower field strengths (and thus higher ranges) in order to increase the bit error rate, which slows down the computer or causes it to crash .

AESA antennas can also be used as high-speed data links; X-band antennas achieve over 548 Mbit / s when sending and 1 Gbit / s when receiving. The data transmission rate from radar to radar is therefore much higher than with Link 16 , which reaches up to 284 kBit / s. This means that very large data packets such as SAR images can be transmitted in seconds, or a bistatic radar can be set up between two AESA antennas using a combination of radar and data link functions. If an AESA radar with the same frequency range is in space, the bistatic radar can also be formed between space and the aircraft in order to give the aircraft a purely passive location option. The principle was demonstrated by DLR in November 2007 when the active TerraSAR-X satellite and the passive airborne radar F-SAR created SAR images .

The ability to feed data packets into X-band communication systems also enables cyber attacks on hostile computer systems, provided that exploits can be used to circumvent the opposing security technology. This capability is to be introduced into the US Air Force with the F-35 Lightning . The next generation jammer with GaN-AESA technology, which is to replace the AN / ALQ-99, will also be able to feed malware into hostile computer systems. There are bad rumors that some computer chips have a built-in kill switch that can be used to shut down the chip remotely if the system falls into enemy hands. A representative of the defense industry was quoted in the respected journal IEEE Spectrum . The DARPA has to the Trusted Integrated Circuits (TRUST) program launched to ensure that chips in US systems do not contain "malicious circuits". The use of radar as an energy weapon to give the chip the signal is conceivable. One example was Operation Orchard , in which a program similar to the Suter is said to have been used to carry out a cyber attack on Syrian air defense.

technology

General

The CAPTOR was optimized for aerial combat with Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missiles (BVRAAM) under strong enemy electronic countermeasures , this resulted from the requirements of the Cold War . Since its end, the main focus of the Eurofighter has shifted from hunting to multi-purpose combat aircraft tasks. Therefore, the ground attack capabilities of the radar were further developed in this direction. The mechanical control was selected in the initial phase of the Eurofighter project because the development risk should be as low as possible. According to those responsible for the project, the technology of a mechanically pivoted antenna has been fully exploited with the CAPTOR.

The radar consists of a mechanically controlled antenna made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic with a diameter of 0.7 meters. The antenna can be swiveled by ± 60 ° in elevation and azimuth, four high-precision samarium - cobalt servomotors with high torque are used for antenna control in order to achieve high scanning speeds. The motors can only move the planar antenna in the elevation and azimuth angle, the compensation of roll angles takes place electronically through combined control in order to reduce the weight. Due to the very high scanning speed for a mechanically pivoted antenna, the radar can also interleave different radar modes , which is otherwise only possible with phased-array antennas , but much faster there. For example, air-to-air and air-to-ground modes can be combined in one scan. The accuracy is less than a milliradian in the alignment and less than 10 meters in the distance measurement.

The CAPTOR works in the X-band from 8 to 12 GHz (horizontally polarized) and has twice the transmission power of the AN / APG-65 . It automatically switches between low, medium and high pulse repetition rates . These amount to 1,000 to 200,000 pulses per second, with the main focus being on average pulse repetition rates. The friend-foe detection is integrated in the radar device and is normally operated fully automatically. The signal processing consists of 61 plug-in cards ( shop replaceable items ) and 6 line replaceable units . The modular design makes repairs and upgrades easy. The built-in self-diagnostic capability describes the defective SRI, which can be read out on the ground by a laptop without having to switch on the power supply. If the SRI is actually defective, it will be replaced. The software was written in ADA according to MIL STD 2167A standard. The CAPTOR is the first NATO radar with three processing channels. The first channel is used for target search, the second for target tracking and identification and the third for localizing, classifying and overcoming interference measures as well as for sidelobe suppression . The overall system weighs 193 kg, and the computer components are cooled using both liquid and air.

Signal processing

Due to the sensor fusion practiced in the Eurofighter Typhoon via the Attack and Identification System (AIS) , the radar modes are normally selected automatically by the on-board computer; the CAPTOR is operated exclusively according to the VTAS principle (VTAS - Voice, Throttle and Stick). The general operation of the radar is as follows: First, the radar sends in Velocity Search (VS) mode in order to detect approaching targets in the ground clutter. If targets are discovered, the Range While Search (RWS) mode is switched to. The computer then begins to create a track file and continues to work in Track While Scan (TWS) mode while it searches for new destinations. Then the identity of the targets is determined by NIS or NCTI, and the threats are prioritized. After that, other modes such as raid assessment and threat assessment are used if necessary . Further operating modes and capabilities are not fully listed:

  • Synthetic Aperture Radar / Automatic Target Recognition: Older aircraft types also have a SAR mode, but the pilot must search for targets himself, provided the resolution of the image is high enough. This function is automated with the CAPTOR-D / E: The high-resolution SAR image is first smoothed with a Gaussian filter in order to reduce details. Then, starting from each pixel, the gradient and the direction of the same to the neighboring pixel is determined. If the order of magnitude of the gradient of a pixel in a certain direction is greater than that of the neighboring pixel, the pixel is declared an edge and otherwise assigned to the background. Weak edges are eliminated by a hysteresis threshold ( Canny algorithm ). After another algorithm generated closed structures, the invariant Fourier descriptors of the image are calculated and these are fed into an artificial neural network for automatic target identification . Several subnets run in parallel, the final result between the subnets is determined by voting. The positions of the recognized targets are now marked on the SAR image by red diamonds, the target type is displayed in red above the diamond, e.g. B. " T-72 " or " MLRS ". The generated radar image is placed over a vectorized map stored in the computer with known GPS coordinates in order to calculate the GPS data of the targets. Alternatively, the GPS target position can be determined based on your own GPS position and different shooting angles and distances. To train the neural network, EADS developed software in which CAD models of targets are placed on a map and the scene is converted into a SAR image. The algorithm then tries to discover these objects despite the interfering objects, different target angles and partial obscuring of the targets.
  • Non Cooperative Target Identification: Since the late 1980s, radars have generally been capable of JEM, but this only works in the front area of ​​the aircraft, since the turbine must be visible. Implementation of HRR was planned for next-generation combat aircraft radars. As the name High Range Resolution suggests, the target is profiled lengthways. For this purpose, a series of narrow-band nanosecond pulses are emitted in order to achieve a high distance resolution in the meter range. In addition to this standard method, there is also the option of sending narrow-band chirps with stepped carrier frequencies as a continuum. The former was already possible before 1987, the latter was newly developed by BAE Systems. Which method is used with the CAPTOR is secret, but the latter is likely. The radar echo of the target now emits a characteristic frequency curve over time, as a pulse is first reflected from the nose, cockpit hood, air inlet, leading edges of the wings and vertical stabilizer (if the target is irradiated from the front). In general, a bandwidth of 400 MHz and a variety of measurements are considered necessary to identify airborne targets. Together with the target's track data, which are required to determine the target's angle to the radar, the characteristic frequency profile of the echo over time can be assigned to a target type by means of a database comparison. Then the pilot is shown an abbreviation for the aircraft type in the display, e.g. B. " Mrg3 " or " Flkr ". In order not to let the size of the database get out of hand, only the aircraft type data that is expected to occur in the respective area are loaded for operations. Since the external load configuration of the target is not known, difficulties can arise with the non-cooperative target identification. In this case, hundreds of HRR profiles of the target are created in order to filter out the echoes of the external loads and to compute an ISAR image from them. However, the target must move relative to the radar for this, and the radar must remain on the target for a long time, which is tactically unfavorable. The ISAR image can presumably be shown to the pilot in "Visual Identification" mode on the displays, the resolution per pixel point is worse than with PIRATE .
  • Space-Time Adaptive Processing / Combat Search: This ability is at the heart of the CAPTOR-E. With Space-Time Adaptive Processing (STAP), slow-flying targets can also be recognized under the influence of clutter and interference radiation, even if their echo signal would otherwise be lost in the interference signals. For this purpose, several sub-apertures are used with which the wave field reflected from the ground is scanned with a time delay. In the ideal case, the signals in the individual channels only differ in terms of this time offset. However, moving targets with a radial velocity component change their distance to the sensor within this time span, so that the signals are subject to a phase shift and can be distinguished from the clutter signals. In the vicinity of the echo signal of a target, not only the change over time is considered, but also compared with the change in space (space time). The principle is also used to detect slow ground targets in the Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI) operating mode. If an air target is lost in the TWS mode, the suspected target area no longer has to be swiveled away in a time-consuming manner with a signal cone: the Combat Search mode generates multiple signal cones, which occupy the target area in a checkerboard angle of 20 ° × 20 °. Ideally, one pulse, sent and received by several signal lobes, is enough to find the lost target again.
Adaptive Beam Forming
  • Jammer Mapping / Deterministic Nulling: The CAPTOR-E (also known as CAPTOR-M according to rumors) is capable of jammer mapping . The identity and the angle of the jamming transmitter is determined by spectral processing with high accuracy. The CAPTOR-E then begins with Digital Adaptive Beamforming : Since the directional characteristics of an AESA antenna can be manipulated as required by controlling the T / R modules, zeros are set in the antenna diagram in the direction of the jamming transmitter . The trick is to make the zeros as narrow as possible so that targets next to interferers can be reliably identified. During AMSAR flights, this enabled the signal strength of sources of interference to be reduced down to the background noise, so that targets emerged again. To improve the result, deterministic nulling is also used. The received signals of the T / R modules are weighted differently by the signal processor across all degrees of freedom of the antenna in order to further reduce the influence of interferers. The principle is shown in the picture on the right.
  • Low Probability of Intercept: In order to reduce the probability of detection by enemy radar detectors and electronic support measures, the CAPTOR-E will be given an LPI operating mode. Little is known about this; the radar should transmit with a broad main lobe and receive through multiple lobes with a high antenna gain.
  • Noise Jamming / High-Power Microwave: When used as a jamming transmitter, the radar transmits in all frequencies simultaneously with full strength, the radar energy is focused on the opposing X-band antenna. This increases the background noise at the target radar, the signal-to-noise ratio deteriorates, and the range decreases. If the available effective radiated power of the own antenna is large enough, further signal lobes for air space search, target tracking or disturbance can be formed. If the burn-through distance is not reached, the broadband noise becomes meaningless. If the opponent is close enough to the CAPTOR-E, the HPM mode takes effect: The radar energy is focused extremely strongly on the target, and the transmission frequency, the pulse repetition rate and the signal pattern are adapted to the target. The energy penetrates the object via a front door , usually the viewfinder of the weapon (IR or radar), or via feedback effects of the surface and openings ( back door ). Inside, an electromagnetic field is formed which - if suitable transmission parameters are selected - interferes with the electronics of the weapon. This leads to an increase in the bit error rate and, in the best case, to computer crashes . Possible uses include deflecting enemy missiles and suppressing enemy air defenses . While the jamming function should be available as soon as possible with the introduction of the CAPTOR-E, its use as an energy weapon is not planned until later.
  • High-Speed ​​Datalink / Cyberattack: AESA antennas can also be used as directional radio antennas to send data at high data transmission rates . The AN / APG-77 can, for example, send at 548 Mbit / s and receive in the gigabyte range. Since the CAPTOR-E uses the same carrier frequency , similar speeds will be possible. The data transfer function should be available as soon as the CAPTOR-E is introduced. Its use as a cyber weapon to inject malware is not planned for later. Thanks to the Suter , which was developed by BAE Systems to attack hostile computer networks and communication systems, the EuroRADAR consortium already has competence and experience.
  • Bistatic Radar / Space-Based Radar: The ability to exchange data packets between radars enables two CAPTOR-E to be used as bistatic radar devices. The inclined, rotatable antenna surface enables the machines to fly on a parallel course while working together. An exotic application would be to use a satellite with X-band AESA in orbit as a transmitter and to use the CAPTOR-E as a passive radar . The principle was proven back in November 2007 with the TerraSAR-X satellite . The successor system to SAR-Lupe , called SARah, will also receive a satellite with AESA, which is based on the TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X . The AESA radar prototype PACER (Phased Array Concepts Evaluation Rig) from DERA, which was supposed to support the development of the AMSAR, existed e.g. B. only from passive X-band receiver modules, and should, among other things, research the bistatic application.

variants

Prototypes

ECR-90A

First test on board a modified BAC 1-11 with a Eurofighter radar nose. Due to the "Frequency Selective Surface (FSS)" materials in the radome, clutter appeared. These materials ensure that the radome is transparent to the frequencies and polarization of its own radar, while others are reflected away or absorbed.

ECR-90B

Improved test radar with the ECR-90 antenna modified by DASA on board a modified BAC 1-11 with Eurofighter radar nose. The antenna was switched from vertical to horizontal polarization.

AMSAR

The AMSAR (Airborne Multi-role Solid-state Active Array Radar) began in 1993 as a development between Great Britain and France, Germany joined in 1995. The goal was to develop an AESA flying radar demonstrator with Adaptive Beam Forming (ABF) for combat aircraft. With this the E-Scan technology should be matured. The focus was on air-to-air operating modes and ECCM, but also GMTI.

The AMSAR consisted of 1000 GaAs-based T / R modules (TRM) with phase shifters and attenuation control to precisely control phase and amplitude. The TRM, which worked in the X-band, consisted of two crossed Vivaldi antennas , which were rotated by 90 ° and plugged into each other. The Legostein-sized modules of less than 20 mm in length and about 10 mm in height and width were made of ULTEM 2200 (20% glass fiber , 80% polyetherimide ), which was metallized on the surface to enable the radar energy to be radiated vertically and horizontally. The peak power of the modules was several watts, the antenna surface was liquid-cooled. The antenna area of ​​600 mm in diameter and 450 mm in depth was divided into eight sub-arrays to enable digital adaptive beamforming . The eight sub-arrays could be digitally divided into four so that a total of 32 sub-arrays could be generated. This allowed sending and receiving patterns , waveforms , update rates and interleaving to be combined as required in a swivel range of ± 60 °.

After the AMSAR was tested in an absorber chamber, free trials without radome followed. It was then installed in the QinetiQ BAC 1-11, and the test series began. The AMSAR only mastered the modes Velocity Search and Search and Track with high or medium pulse repetition rates. Test flights against the Falcon 20, Hunter, Mirage 2000 and Alpha Jet followed at the Cazaux military airfield . Some Falcon 20s or Hunters carried jammers to disrupt main and / or sidelobes. The radar was then transported to the absorber chamber of the Center d'électronique de l'armement (CELAR) in order to carry out the BEDYRA hardware-in-the-loop test (Banc d'Evaluation DYnamique pour Radars et Autodirecteurs électromagnétiques). Here the radar parameters were refined, jammer mapping , simultaneous multiple beams forming on receive and deterministic nulling were tested, and the ability to track targets was tested. This was followed by installation in BAC 1-11 and air-to-air test flights in Boscombe Down. The WTD 61 carried out STAP / GMTI tests with a VW Passat that had corner reflectors on the roof and pyramid absorbers on the rear. The final tests took place again in Cazaux, where air-to-air STAP was tested against ground clutter and the location of an Alpha Jet that was covered by two jammers.

CAESAR

T / R module of the CAESAR

As a result, Great Britain and Germany started the CECAR program. The CAESAR (Captor Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar) should provide the fastest possible, robust and simple installation solution for the AESA technology in the Eurofighter ( plug and play ). It took only 36 months from the concept to the first test flight. In addition to the new AESA antenna, only the power supply for the antenna and the antenna control unit had to be replaced compared to the CAPTOR-C.

The antenna consisted of 1424 GaAs pHemt HPA transmitting and receiving modules, which were about the size of a stick of chewing gum, and measuring 64.5 × 13.5 × 4.5 mm, filling a volume of 4 cm³ and each weighing 15 g. The modules were based on the Standardized Modular Transmit / Receive (SMTR) module from EADS, which is also used in TerraSAR-X , the ground surveillance radar (BÜR) and MEADS . Each module had built -in test equipment . The antenna could be divided into over 30 sub-arrays. The rear side was cooled using liquid-cooled plates. To demonstrate the ease of maintenance, the radar was dismantled and reassembled several times. The maximum electronic swivel angle was also examined.

After the calibration, the flight tests on the BAC 1-11 began in November 2005. The first flight in February 2006, like all subsequent flights, exceeded expectations. All radar modes were tested and the raw data analyzed. At the beginning of 2007, the CAESAR was installed in the DA5 development aircraft to demonstrate compatibility with the Typhoon weapon system. This was followed by test flights against targets of opportunity and the Tornado and Phantom combat aircraft, which carried GPS pods to check the radar data. The ability to do the TWS Look Back , where TWS targets are accompanied while simultaneously searching for new targets, proved to be particularly useful. At the end of 2007 the antenna was reinstalled in the BAC 1-11 to test "Advanced Waveforms " against air and ground targets. In 2008, SAR / MTI and simultaneous air-to-air and air-to-ground deployment were tested.

Finally, the development of the GaN module technology and of fuselage-compliant radar antennas began. The use of radar as a communication antenna, jamming transmitter (ECM), EloUM for radar and missile warning (ESM) and for electronic attack against ground-based radars was researched under the heading “More-than-Radar” .

Series models

CAPTOR-C

The CAPTOR-C (formerly known as ECR-90C) is the series radar for Tranche 1 aircraft. The computing power of the radar is three billion instructions per second . The software contains 1.2 million lines of code. In the track-while-scan mode, the detection range for a fighter is around 185 km, up to 20 targets can be tracked and 6 can be shot at at the same time. In synthetic aperture radar mode, the radar maps the terrain with a resolution of 1 m. The first software update R2P was available from 2012, the software update R2Q from the beginning of 2013.

CAPTOR-D

Since the electronics of the CAPTOR-C had become obsolete , modernization measures were initiated for tranche 2. This includes new hardware with modern PowerPC processors and a new mission computer with higher computing power. This increase in combat value enabled the EloGM capabilities to be improved, and the resolution in SAR mode increased to 0.3 m. The CAPTOR-D has the full air-to-ground properties (see above); retrofitting of AESA technology is possible. The radar is also known as CAPTOR-M (“M” for mechanical). The first software update T2P was available from 2012, the software update T2Q from the beginning of 2013.

CAPTOR-E

Model of the antenna with a swashplate
CAPTOR-E, DSEI-2019, London

The CAPTOR-E is intended to introduce AESA technology into the CAPTOR family. In order to avoid the limited viewing angle of fixed radar antennas, the antenna is installed tilted with two swash plates . Thanks to the tilt angle of 40 ° and the ability to rotate in all directions, a search range of ± 100 ° in elevation and azimuth can be implemented together with the electronic swivel angle of 60 °. The back-end is largely taken over by CAPTOR-M. This is intended to increase the F-pole distance in air combat. However, this increases the weight of the radar by 100 kg.

As with the CAESAR, the radar antenna should consist of around 1500 TRM. For cost reasons, GaAs technology is planned for the prototypes , while the series version should have GaN- based modules . A number of GaN module developments in Great Britain and Germany were financed in advance. Ultimately, however, according to Andrew Cowdery, CEO of EuroRADAR, the decision was made to use GaAs modules because GaN technology was not yet mature enough.

According to Indra Sistemas , the antenna (LRI # 9), Transmitter Auxiliary Unit (TAU) and Antenna Power Supply & Controller (APSC) will be different from the CAPTOR-M. The TAU of the CAPTOR-E should be charged with 12.75 kVA, so that after losses 10.58 kW flow into the APSC, which should work with over 88% efficiency. As a result, the output power here would be over 9.31 kW. With the CAPTOR-E, the components are to be cooled using evaporative cooling . The detection range should be 59 km against a Lockheed Martin F-35 (as of 2011).

After the development was driven forward by the EuroRADAR consortium with its own funds, the British Ministry of Defense agreed in 2011 to finance the CAPTOR-E test flights from 2013 onwards. At least the test radars are to be equipped with a Trial Interface Processor (TIP), which records the radar data during the flight. For this purpose, 240 GB (can be upgraded by 2 ×, 4 × or 8 ×) hard disk storage with up to 520 Mbit / s is available, which is connected to six fiber optic cables with 1 Gbit / s each. A prototype of the CAPTOR-E has been installed in IPA5 since the beginning of 2013 and is scheduled to fly at the end of the year. After successful tests and thus completion of the development, Hensoldt will start series deliveries to the UK from 2019.

There are several series of this radar:

  • Mk.0, basic variant that was initially developed for export customers.
  • Mk.1, variant for Germany and Spain, which is developed under the leadership of Hensoldt
  • Mk.2, also "Radar 2", planned variant for the British Royal Air Force

table

Surname antenna Power generation Pulse power Range b TWS targets / fire control channels System weight
Prototypes
ECR-90A Planar antenna a Coupled-cavity traveling wave tube ~ 9 kW c 0 km 20/6 N / A
ECR-90B Planar CFRP antenna Coupled-cavity traveling wave tube ~ 9 kW c 185 km 20/6 193 kg
AMSAR Active phased array antenna 1000 GaAs TSA à> 5 W. > 5 kW (150 km) N / A N / A
CAESAR Active phased array antenna 1424 GaAs pHemt HPA à 10 W. 14.2 kW (200+ km) 20/6 N / A
Series models
CAPTOR-C Planar CFRP antenna Coupled-cavity traveling wave tube ~ 9 kW c 185 km 20/6 193 kg
CAPTOR-D Planar CFRP antenna Coupled-cavity traveling wave tube ~ 9 kW c 185 km N / A 193 kg
CAPTOR-E Active phased array antenna 1300-1500 GaAs TRM N / A 394 km d N / A 293 kg
a A familiar picture shows a bright yellow antenna with vertical polarization instead of black carbon fiber
b Against an aerial target with a radar cross-section of 2.5 m², estimates in brackets
c Twice the transmission power compared to the APG-65, which reaches 4.5 kW.
dThe RCS of the F-35 should correspond to that of a golf ball. This has a diameter of 4 cm, so 59 km for 0.00126 m². At 2.5 m², the radar equation gives 394 km.

Web links

Commons : EuroRADAR CAPTOR  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ flightglobal: Radars look down on Paris , June 16, 1985
  2. ↑ flightglobal: Five study EFA radar , June 29, 1985 (PDF; 131 kB)
  3. ↑ flightglobal: France seeks EFA radar share , April 4, 1987
  4. ↑ flightglobal: EFA radar battle: new versus now , September 6, 1986 (PDF; 2.4 MB)
  5. ↑ flightglobal: Teams try again on EFA radar , January 30, 1988
  6. ↑ a b c d flightglobal: EFA radar: heads or tails, the UK loses , March 19, 1988
  7. ↑ flightglobal: US hampers EFA radar bid , May 28, 1988 (PDF; 2.3 MB)
  8. ↑ flightglobal: EFA radar transfer agreed , August 27, 1988 (PDF; 2.2 MB)
  9. ↑ flightglobal: EFA radar choice nears , October 22, 1988 (PDF; 285 kB)
  10. ↑ flightglobal: EFA - UK looks at three-nation radar , October 7, 1989 (PDF; 1.3 MB)
  11. ↑ flightglobal: Ferranti rival in talks to join ECR-90 project , 6-12. December 1989
  12. ↑ flightglobal: Ferranti take-over cuts UK MoD options , February 6, 1990
  13. ↑ flightglobal: Ericsson ousted from EFA radar , July 24, 1990
  14. ↑ aerospaceweb: F-16 IFF "Bird Slicer" Antennas , accessed on July 26, 2013.
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  17. ↑ Research Institute for High Frequency Physics : NON-COOPERATIVE AIR TARGET IDENTIFICATION BY RADAR , RTO SCI Symposiumon “Non-Cooperative Air Target Identification Using Radar”, Mannheim, Germany, April 22-24, 1998 ( Memento of the original from June 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / ftp.rta.nato.int
  18. ^ NATO RTO Task Group: Countermeasures to Imaging Radars (SCI-066) , accessed July 26, 2013.
  19. ↑ Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH: THE EUROPEAN FIGHTER AIRCRAFT EF2000 FLIGHT TEST PROGRAMS OVERVIEW AND MANAGEMENT CONCEPT , AGARD FVP Symposium on “Advances in Flight Testing”, Lisbon, 23-26. September 1996 ( Memento of the original from November 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / ftp.rta.nato.int
  20. ↑ flightglobal: DASA modifies antenna to cure EF2000's radar , May 29, 1996
  21. ↑ flightglobal: GEC demonstrates the ECR 90 to Eurofighter nations , October 2-8 , 1996
  22. ↑ FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL: EFA warms to Rafale IRST , 12-18. September 1990
  23. ↑ flightglobal: TARGETING TOMORROW , 5-11. June 1991
  24. ↑ flightglobal: DASA ready to join GTAR radar partners , May 3, 1995
  25. ↑ flightglobal: RAF aims for multiple arrays , 1996
  26. ↑ flightglobal: Fighting for a foothold , July 18, 2000
  27. ↑ Eurofighter GmbH - German Air Force take Delivery of First Series Production Eurofighter ( Memento of the original from March 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.eurofighter.com
  28. ↑ Airpower.at: A new radar for the Eurofighter , 2006
  29. ↑ Flug Revue: Eurofighter: Industry starts AESA radar development , July 20, 2010
  30. ↑ DefenseNews - Industry Fronts Money for Typhoon Radar R&D  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.defensenews.com  
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  32. ↑ a b Flightglobal: PICTURE: AESA radar clears trial fit with Eurofighter , June 13, 2013
  33. ↑ Flightglobal: BAE advances Captor-E radar integration on Typhoon , March 6, 2014
  34. ↑ Flightglobal: FARNBOROUGH: Eurofighter gets AESA program boost , July 16, 2014
  35. ↑ Handelsblatt: Germany is helping to develop Eurofighter radar , November 13, 2014
  36. ↑ FlugRevue: Development contract for Captor-E-Radar signed , November 19, 2014
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  38. ↑ flightglobal: Hughes Brazo , May 29, 1976
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  49. ^ Aviation Today: Avionics Crown Typhoon Performance , August 1, 2006
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  54. ↑ Troop service - radar and self-protection
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  67. ↑ a b PANORAMA DIFESA: Typhoon continua a crescere, GIUGNO 2013.
  68. ↑ a b Eurofighter World: WHAT IS A 5TH GENERATION FIGHTER? , 2/2010 ( Memento of the original dated November 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 773 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.eurofighter.com
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  80. ↑ Eurofighter Typhoon - materials, aerodynamics, flight controls
  81. ↑ https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/details-of-typhoon-enhancements-revealed-213879/
  82. ↑ airpower.at - Eurofighter climbing
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  84. ↑ AIN online: Selex Galileo Leads Europe's E-Scan Drive , July 9, 2012
  85. ↑ Aerospace Insight Blog: Typhoon - the best is yet to come , March 8, 2013 ( Memento of the original from October 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / media.aerosociety.com
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  89. ↑ AviationWeek: Covers Off Eurofighter E-Scan Radar , July 16, 2014
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  91. ↑ Korea Times: F-35: a game changer in modern warfare , October 24, 2011
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