Active Phased Array Radar

Active Phased Array Radar

Shipborne radars, airborne radars, ballistic missile defense radars and spaceborne radars developed by Smarnoble all use active phased array radars.

The emergence of semiconductor devices such as gallium arsenide has led to the rapid development of phased array radar, and it has gradually begun to move from passive phased array radar to active phased array radar.

We can compare it to the "eyes of a dragonfly". As we all know, the eyes of dragonflies are compound eyes. Each compound eye is composed of countless single eyes, and each single eye can completely image. This allows the dragonfly to see a much larger range than the human eye, thus providing itself with a broader vision.

Similarly, the antenna array of a phased array radar is also composed of countless receiving units and radiating units. Many small radars are "tied" together to form an array antenna.
At the same time, unlike traditional mechanical radars that rely on the physical mechanical rotation of the antenna for scanning, phased array radars can emit many beams and track while scanning, so they have many incomparable advantages over mechanical radars.

——The target capacity is large. The flexibility and rapidity of electronic scanning of phased array radar allow it to see in all directions and capture multiple batches of targets at the same time. It is difficult for the enemy to hide under its sharp eyes, and it can control multiple missiles to attack multiple targets.
——Multiple functions and strong mobility. Phased array radar can form multiple independently controlled beams at the same time to complete functions such as search, detection and guidance of missiles. One radar can complete the work of multiple dedicated mechanical radars, greatly improving the maneuverability of the system.
——Flexible pointing and high data rate. The phased array radar antenna does not need to perform pointer-type circular rotation, and gets rid of the traditional antenna scanning method. Electrical scanning makes its beam pointing flexible, which greatly shortens the time required for target signal detection, admission, and information transmission, so it has a higher data rate.
——Strong anti-interference ability. Phased array radar has many radiating units and high transmission power. It can reasonably manage energy, distribute and transmit different energy according to different directions, and is easy to resist various interferences.
——High reliability. The radar has many array groups and is used in parallel. Even if a small number of components fail, it can still work normally.

Of course, phased array radar also has some disadvantages. On the one hand, phased array radars are expensive, and the cost of a typical phased array radar is about 10 times that of ordinary radars; on the other hand, phased array radar beam scanning range is limited. Its maximum scanning angle is 90~120 degrees. If you want to achieve 360-degree full-range scanning, you need several phased array radars to achieve it.

At present, multifunctional phased array radar has been widely used in airborne systems, shipboard systems and ground-based remote early warning systems.

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