India to acquire 'x-band' radars

youngindian

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Seeking better protection against incoming enemy's ballistic missiles and air-borne attacks launched by maverick terrorist organisations, India is to acquire the latest "x-band" radars that have an astonishing 4,600-km range to pick out missiles and airborne objects.

These will allow ground-based handlers to pick out even a six-inch-wide airborne object from that distance and give the option of retaliation. The long range spotting capacity will allow a reaction time that will be six times quicker than the present capacity of India. This will help ramp up the ballistic missile defence capabilities in this "missile-charged" neighbourhood with both China and Pakistan possessing missiles of varied ranges.

The new acquisition will bring cities like Beijing, large parts of South East Asia and also countries in the entire Middle East within India's viewing range. Present Indian capability is the Swordfish radar that can spot objects from 600-800 km away, which is under an upgrade to have a 1,500-km range. This is essentially a derivative of the Israeli Green pine radar that is now produced locally by the DRDO.

The use of long-range radars is immense as they can "acquire" or view a target and are capable of tracking it down, enabling the ground based operator to fire a counter missile and shot down the incoming enemy missile. India has already demonstrated technology to fire a missile and destroy an incoming missile at an altitude of 15 km above the earth and another test to take on the missile at a height of 48 km. The new powerful state-of-the-art technology x-band radar will be the best bet to tackle ICBMs in China's arsenal, sources said while adding that the Chinese missile code-named 'Dongfeng 31', was a proven platform that can fire for 8,000 km. The Pakistani Hatf and Ghauri missiles, essentially hand-me-down versions of Chinese and North Korean missiles, are India-specific.

Each of the new x-band radars is expected to cost close to $600-700 million. Sources said only a one US company has produced such a long-range radar. Israel had requested the US to provide one and got it. This was to provide a defence against any perceived misadventure by Iran. Now India could either tie-up with the US or Israel.

http://idrw.org/?p=1921#more-1921
 

nrj

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Well, I'm wondering about the power requirements of this monster. X-band short wavelengths will enhance target resolution to a good extent. Future variants should be derived into sea based, mobile platforms of this radar. It'll add powered muscle to BMD.
 

ahmedsid

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If I am not Mistaken the Radar Complex housing the XBand in Israel is Operated by Americans and Israelis are not in command, its just interlinked with the Israeli ABM Shield.

I dont think USA will just give us the Radar, its actually top end, and Not something Uncle Sam will play with. If they havent given Israel access to it, will they give it to India?

Do Correct me, If I am wrong. God Speed
 

nrj

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If this is part of Indo-Israel venture to acquire or develop new radar then its okay. India can't afford any more US BMD shield shyt things. I say we go for JV with Israel with this. The news has so less info. Anyone with better source?
 

BunBunCake

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We need more information on this?
What is this program called?

S0urces?
 
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Israeli X-band radar made by Raytheon operated by US personnel only

 
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http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/track/pavepaws.htm

AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS Radar



PAVE PAWS is an Air Force Space Command radar system operated by 21st Space Wing squadrons for missile warning and space surveillance. A Request for Proposal was submitted to industry 13 June 1975 for PAVE PAWS, a long-range, phased-array radar system. Designed to detect and characterize a sea-launched ballistic missile attack against the United States, Air Force Rome Air Development Center [RADC] was responsible for the design, fabrication installation, integration test, and evaluation of the system.

PAVE is an Air Force program name, that, contrary to some reports, does not have an expansion, while PAWS stands for Phased Array Warning System. The radar is used primarily to detect and track sea-launched and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The system also has a secondary mission of Earth-orbiting satellite detection and tracking. Information received from the PAVE PAWS radar systems pertaining to SLBM/ICBM and satellite detection is forwarded to the United States Space Command's Missile Warning and Space Control Centers at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base, Colo. Data is also sent to the National Military Command Center and the US Strategic Command.

PAVE PAWS reached initial operating capability 4 April 1980 at Otis AFB in Massachusetts, and 15 August at Beale AFB, California. Beale AFB and Cape Cod AFS are the only two operating PAVE PAWS sites in the United States. There is a decommissioned PAVE PAWS radar site at Robins AFB, Georgia. This site was closed as a cost-saving measure at the end of the Cold War. There was a PAVE PAWS EWR at Eldorado AFS, Texas. This radar was dismantled and moved to Clear AFS, Alaska and is scheduled to be operational in 2001. Clear AFS, Alaska is a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System site that is scheduled to become a PAVE PAWS site in early 2001.

The radar system is capable of detecting and monitoring a great number of targets that would be consistent with a massive SLBM attack. The system must rapidly discriminate between vehicle types, calculating their launch and impact points in addition to the scheduling, data processing and communications requirements. The operation is entirely automatic, requiring people only for monitoring, maintenance and as a final check on the validity of warnings. Three different computers communicating with each other form the heart of the system which relays the information the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base.

The mission of the PAVE PAWS radar installations involves two activities. The first activity, surveillance, is to detect and determine attack characteristics of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and Sea Launched Ballistic Missiles that might penetrate the PAVE PAWS field of view. Once detected, the launched object is continuously tracked and its trajectory estimated. Any object that separates from a booster is also tracked as it approaches. The second activity, tracking, supports the USSPACECOM Space Surveillance Network, which involves the surveillance and tracking of earth satellites and identification of other space objects.

To detect objects, the radar devotes approximately half of its capabilities to generate what is called a surveillance fence. This refers to scanning at elevations between 3 and 10 degrees above horizontal over 240 degrees (the azimuth) of a 360 degree circle with the radar at the center. In the surveillance mode, the position of the beam changes within this surveillance space according to a programmed pattern, moving from one position to another within tens of microseconds. In the surveillance mode, both faces of the radar are simultaneously active. Under normal circumstances, 11 percent of the radar resource is devoted to surveillance activities. The radar is also capable of performing enhanced search where the duty cycle is increased to 18 percent with no tracking being performed.

To track objects, the radar can allocate the remainder of its capabilities to focus on particular objects or a small cluster of objects. Normally, this would take up about 7 percent of the available radar resource, for a combined surveillance and tracking duty cycle of 18 percent. This means that on average the radar is transmitting pulses only 18 percent of the time. The maximum possible use of the radar resource for combined surveillance and tracking activities is 25 percent and is the operating condition that produces the maximum possible power density.

Under very exceptional circumstances of heavy tracking assignment the duty cycle of either face can be increased to 25%; under those conditions the duty cycle of the other face is necessarily reduced to 11%. The proportion of time that the radar is allocated to each activity varies considerably. Each activity demands that different patterns of pulsed signals be transmitted by the radar that are affected by the size, trajectory, and distance of objects. Thus, as part of the existing PAVE PAWS mission there are differences between the number of pulses, their duration, and repetition frequency.

The unique aspect of this radar system is the phased array antenna technology. This system differs from a mechanical radar which must be physically aimed at an object in space to tract or observe it. The phased array antenna is a fixed position and is part of the exterior building wall. Phased array antenna aiming, or beam steering, is done rapidly by electronically controlling the timing, or phase, of the incoming and outgoing signals.

Controlling the phase through the many segments of the antenna system allows the beam to be quickly projected in different directions. This greatly reduces the time necessary to change the beam direction from one point to another, allowing almost simultaneous tracking of multiple targets while maintaining the surveillance responsibility. The large fixed antenna array through its better beam focusing, improves system sensitivity and tracking accuracy.

A phased array antenna, as any other directional antenna, will receive signals from space only in the direction in which the beam is aimed. The maximum practical deflection on either side of antenna center of the phased array beam is 60 degrees. This limits the coverage from a single antenna face to 120 degrees. To provide surveillance across the horizon, the building housing the entire system and supporting the antenna arrays is constructed in the shape of a triangle. The two building faces supporting the arrays, each covering 120 degrees, will monitor 240 degrees of azimuth.

Each of the PAVE PAWS radars is housed in a 32-meter (105-foot) high building with three sides. Two flat arrays of individual radiating elements transmit and receive RF signals generated by the radar. The equipment that generates the RF signals and then analyzes the reflected signals is housed inside the radar building. The two array faces are 31 meters (102 feet) wide and are tilted back 20 degrees to allow for an elevation deflection from three to 85 degrees above the horizon. The lower limit provides receiver isolation from signals returned from ground clutter and for environmental microwave radiation hazard protection of the local area.

The active portion of the array resides in a circle 22.1 meters (72.5 feet) wide in the center of the array. Each radiating element is connected to a solid-state transmit/receive module that provides 325 watts of power and a low-noise receiver to amplify the returning radar signals. The RF signals transmitted from each array face form one narrow main beam with a width of 2.2 degrees.

The radar beam consists of a series of electromagnetic pulses, the characteristics of which (pulse length, frequency) would vary depending on mission requirements. The beam is directed at elevations between 3 and 85 degrees from horizontal, covering an azimuth of 120 degrees per face, for total coverage of 240 degrees. Software programming and redundant automatic interlocks combine to provide a triple-redundant system, which means that a simultaneous failure of three systems would be required to direct the beam outside the designated elevation and azimuth ranges.

Most of the energy (approximately 60 percent) is contained in the main beam. Smaller amounts of energy are emitted by the radar outside the main beam. These energy patterns are called sidelobes. By convention, sidelobes are given numbered designations with the lower numbers being closer to the main beam than the higher numbered ones. The energy contained in these sidelobes progressively decreases with distance from the main beam and from the radar. The first sidelobe is a concentric circle around the main beam. The second and higher sidelobes are narrow beams arranged around the main beam. Their shapes are similar to the main beam but have significantly lower power densities. The maximum power density of the first sidelobe is 1/100th (1 percent) of the maximum power density of the main beam. The maximum power density of the second sidelobe is only 1/1000th (0.1 percent) of the maximum power density of the main beam. The power density levels in the sidelobes quickly drop to insignificant levels as they progress away from the main beam. Since the main beam cannot be aimed lower than 3 degrees above a horizontal plane (see figure 1-3), it never intercepts the ground. Therefore, only the sidelobes intercept the ground. Additionally, the antenna beam is constantly scanning. As the beam scans away from a particular direction, sidelobes intersect the ground progressively further from the main beam. Thus, the higher numbered sidelobes, with significantly lower energy, intersect the ground. The result is that the vast majority of the energy emitted by the radar is directed upward where it is used to detect potential targets.

The far-field region begins at 439 meters (1,440 feet). The exclusion fence at Beale AFB and former exclusion fence at Cape Cod AFS are at approximately 305 meters (1,000 feet). Restricting the lowest elevation of the main beam to 3 degrees above horizontal prevents anyone on the ground or in buildings or residences from being exposed to RF from the main beam, even considering its 2.2 degree width. When the topography of the sites surrounding the radars is taken into account, the elevation of the main beam is still substantially above ground level. For example, at the Cape Cod AFS, ground elevation is 82 meters (269 feet) and the center of the radar faces are 97.5 meters (320 feet) above sea level. For a variety of locations evaluated in the 1979 Cape Cod AFS EIS, the highest elevation within 11,125 meters (36,500 feet) of the radar was the road portion of the Sagamore Bridge at an 83.8-meter (275-foot) elevation. The bridge was identified as being 2,582 meters (8,470 feet) from the radar (Department of the Air Force, 1979). At this location, the center of the main beam would be 149 meters (489 feet) above the ground, and the bottom of the beam width would be 101 meters (331 feet) above the ground. At the most distant location studied, the Otis Schools, the center of the main beam would be 653 meters (2,142 feet) above the ground, and the bottom of the beam width would be 439 meters (1,440 feet) above the ground.
Specifications
Peak Power 1,792 active elements at 325 watts = 582.4 kilowatts (kW)
Duty Factor 25% (11% search, 14% track)
Average Power 145.6 kW
Effective Transmit Gain 37.92 decibel (dB)
Active Radar Diameter 22.1 meters
Frequency 420 megahertz (MHz) to 450 MHz
Radar Detection Range 5,556 kilometers (3,000 nautical miles)
Wavelength 0.69 meters at 435 MHz
Sidelobes -20 dB (first), -30 dB (second),
-38 dB (root mean square)
Face Tilt 20 degrees
Number of Faces 2
3 dB Beam Width 2.2 degrees
 
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http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Se...s-ready-for-7B-THAAD-deal/UPI-60701275923232/

Emirates ready for $7B THAAD deal


ABI DHABI, United Arab Emirates, June 7 (UPI) -- The United Arab Emirates expects to finalize a $7 billion contract to buy Lockheed Martin's high-altitude missile defense system in the next few months, officials of the U.S. defense giant say.

The deal would mark the first time that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system has been sold to a foreign state and underlines Washington's efforts to establish a Persian Gulf-wide shield against Iranian ballistic missiles among U.S. allies in the region.

These states, including oil-rich Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, are within easy missile range by Iran, lying as they do across the gulf, and so form the front line against the Islamic Republic's perceived expansionist policies.

The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency says the Emirates are expected to acquire three THAAD "fire units" and 147 missiles designed to shoot down hostile ballistic weapons.

The deal also includes four radar units, six fire-control and command communications units and nine launchers, the DSCA says.

THAAD missiles don't carry warheads but are designed to destroy incoming missiles by crashing into them at altitudes up to 85 miles.

The deal is configured as a government-to-government sale under the U.S. foreign military sales program rather than one directly with Lockheed Martin. The Raytheon Corp. is also involved as it manufactures the radar units.

The THAAD acquisition would be a major boost for the Arab gulf states, which have been building up their defense forces to counter any Iranian offensive.

These states -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain -- form the Gulf Cooperation Council.

It is supposed to have a common defense policy but traditional rivalries between the ruling families have impeded the creation of a credible and functioning common defense network.

However, the looming threat from Iran, which is developing a substantial ballistic missile force and allegedly seeks to acquire nuclear weapons, has spurred moves by the GCC states to establish a coherent common defense system.

This still has a long way to go but introducing THAAD into the region would bolster a patchy missile defense system that currently rests largely on short-range U.S. Patriot MIM-104F PAC-3 missile systems built by Raytheon deployed in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.

Kenneth Katzman of the U.S. Congressional Research Service, an expert in Middle Eastern security issues, says the GCC's growing fears of Iran, and U.S. efforts to bolster regional defenses have "improved the prospects for implementing a long-standing vision of a potential region-wide missile defense system."

The English-language National newspaper, published in Abu Dhabi, the Emirates' capital, reported Friday that regional defense experts who met there last week "stressed that without integrating the various missile defense systems throughout the GCC, any incoming threat could be met with an inappropriate or insufficient response."

There have been reports that the Americans want to deploy somewhere in the GCC a long-range X-band radar known as the AN/TPY-2 built by Raytheon that can detect and track missiles shortly after launch.

The idea seems to be that this high-powered unit would operate in conjunction with one set up at Israel's Nevatim Air Base in the southern Negev Desert in 2008 to boost Israel's missile defense umbrella as well as U.S. seaborne Aegis missile defenses in the Mediterranean and the gulf region.

Given the political implications of the GCC states cooperating with Israeli-based U.S. units, the issue of siting an AN/TPY-2 on the western shore of the gulf remains highly sensitive and the GCC states have shied from any public discussion of it.

Like the one in Israel, the U.S. radar would be operated by U.S. forces, which would presumably go some way toward easing GCC qualms about having to be seen to cooperate with Israel.

The combination of THAAD and the AN/TPY-2 would add a formidable addition to the GCC's efforts to establish an alliance-wide missile defense shield.

THAAD is still being developed in the United States and is scheduled to have its 14th test flight over Hawaii in July.

If THAAD is up for sale maybe India is also buying??
 

nrj

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X-band radar for IAF

India is looking to acquire American made ultra long range high-powered X-band radar to detect the incoming enemy's ballistic missiles from long ranges. According to the sources this X-band radar can detect the ballistic missiles from 4,600-km. Such a capability will allow ground-based ballistic missile handlers to search and track enemy ballistic missile from extremely long distance. Such capability will help Indian in its retaliation options.



With this induction Indian planners and Indian Strategic Forces Command will have around six times extra reaction time when compared to the present Indian capacity. India can use this capability both to build up its ballistic missile defense systems that are at early stage of testing or for the retaliatory strike against its neighbors China and Pakistan.

For the first time Indian nuclear missiles controlling authority will have an eye over the Chinese cities like Beijing, large parts of South East Asia and also countries in the entire Middle East.

Currently Indian capability is limited to the Swordfish Long Range Tracking Radar (LRTR) which can spot objects from 600-800 km away. India had earlier also imported two Israeli Green Pine long range radar and Swordfish is a derivative of the Green Pine long range radar developed by Israel with some Indian contents to meet India's specific BMD needs.India has already approached Israel to help upgrade its range to 1,500-km.

So far India have only tested its two ballistic missile interceptors four times and have been able to score three hits. Its Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) was tested on November 2006 against the modified Prithvi-II Missile at an altitude of 50 km. PAD was again tested on March 6, 2009 by DRDO against the ship launched Dhanush missile at 75 km altitude. India have also successfully tested its Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Endo-Atmospheric interceptor on 6 December 2007 against Prithvi-II missile at an altitude of 15 km.

Afther this test, terming the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC) III anti-missile system as "outdated", top DRDO scientist V K Saraswat said the Indian Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) shield was better than the American system. Another test of this type was planned to happen on 15th of March this year but failed to materialize as target Prithvi missile deviated from its planned path. Indians have so far only planned to conduct three to four more tests of their ballistic missiles which are insufficient to make the Indian ballistic missile system operational. On the other hand Israel have tested its Arrow ballistic missile interceptor a joint project of Israel and the United States more than 18 times.

For its ballistic missile system India is receiving received active corporation from Israel (Swordfish LRTR and Green Pine Radar), France (fire-control radars) and Russia (seekers for the ballistic missile interceptors).

This new new state-of-the-art technology x-band radar will allow India to tackle Chinese ICBMs, SLBMs with range of more than 8,000 km and new long-range Pakistani Shaheen-III ballistic missile which is currently under development with 4000km range. This American made radar is expected to cost India around $600-700 million. Indian sources say that Israel has already requested the US to provide one such radar and that was delivered to them.

Islamabad in the past has expressed concern that Indian weapon purchases and aggressive behavior will destabilize the region. "This is a nuclearized region, and it is important that Pakistan and India engage meaningfully on the whole range of issues under regional peace and security," Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir had said.

Successful deployment of anti-ballistic missile system by the Indian will tilt the balance in their favor. Such sense of security on the Indian part might permit them believe that they can counter the Pakistani nuclear strike thus enabling India to think that it can attack Pakistan without worrying about its nuclear retaliation. This will also start a new arms race in the region in which China has already claimed to successfully test its own ballistic missile defense system early this year. Once operational, such ballistic missile interceptors could be effectively deployed against Indian ballistic missiles and might be exported to the Pakistan in future.

Pakistan is looking to acquire upto 9 batteries of Chinese HQ-9/FD2000 advanced air defense system as a short-term countermeasure. Chinese HQ-9/FD2000 has a range of 150 kilometers for airborne targets. The Chinese HQ-9/FD2000's range for missile targets, or air-to-ground missiles, is 7-50 kilometers, with a firing altitude of 1-18 kilometers. Its range for cruise missiles is 7-15 kilometers, at a firing altitude of 0.025 kilometers. The range for ballistic missiles is 7-25 kilometers at a firing altitude of 2-15 kilometers.

Source
 

JHA

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Forget it..America will not allow this. They vetoed arrow-2 in 2002..they are not even allowing israel to operate this..how do you think they will sell this to us..
 

p2prada

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Just some random rumour. It would have been more believable if it said LRDE will attempt building one.
 

sayareakd

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Forget it..America will not allow this. They vetoed arrow-2 in 2002..they are not even allowing israel to operate this..how do you think they will sell this to us..
If they want our radar to give Inputs to their central command visa satellite link to monitor china, yeah they will give us and even give two radar to be put on J&K and another on the north east of the country to monitor china.
 
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SHASH2K2

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If no Arrow or X band then we should definitely say no to Mrca Deal . We are getting better offer from France and Europe for this deal. Even planes are better.
 

nrj

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If they want our radar to give Inputs to their central command visa satellite link to monitor china, yeah they will give us and even give two radar to be put on J&K and another on the north east of the country to monitor china.
Good point!

Even I think X-band radar will be good trade for CISMOA. Armed forces will happily give green signal for that.....
 

Agantrope

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If they want our radar to give Inputs to their central command visa satellite link to monitor china, yeah they will give us and even give two radar to be put on J&K and another on the north east of the country to monitor china.
China is now not a serious threat to Unkil, rather they would keep it in israel to monitor the Iran and may be in japan to monitor the China. Also Taiwan is better deal than India to monitor China
 

nrj

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Any news about specification of super Greenpine?
Super Green Pine has range of 900km. But what India is working on is Enhanced Swordfish Radar with Israel. This radar will have 1500Km range, better than Green pine any day in range IMO. However, I'm still looking for the exact power configs of them...
 

SHASH2K2

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Super Green Pine has range of 900km. But what India is working on is Enhanced Swordfish Radar with Israel. This radar will have 1500Km range, better than Green pine any day in range IMO. However, I'm still looking for the exact power configs of them...
I searched a lot for super green pin but nothing it available. Only thing I was able to find out is that S korea is getting 2 of them.
 

nrj

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I searched a lot for super green pin but nothing it available. Only thing I was able to find out is that S korea is getting 2 of them.
Yes, SK is under negotiations (Unkil has pulled some market for Israel i think :p)

Anyways, we don't need Super Green Pine i think. Our approach should be on higher band, higher power radar now.
 

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