AFAR in Russia: past and future
For the first time, the issue of creating a radar with AFAR in our country was on the agenda back in the 80s, when in accordance with the approved in 1983. The target comprehensive program for the creation of fighters of the 90s. Design Bureau named after A.I. Mikoyan has started designing a promising fifth-generation fighter - the MFI Multifunctional Fighter (project "1.42"). The chief developer of the aircraft's armament control system was the Research Institute of Radio Construction (NIIR), on the basis of which today's corporation "Fazotron-NIIR" was later formed. Work on the MFI was carried out taking into account the information received about the creation of a promising fifth-generation ATF fighter in the United States (now known as F-22), which from the very beginning it was decided to equip with an AFAR radar. Therefore, the possibility of creating a radar system with AFAR was considered for the IFI. This idea was supported by the chief developer of the radar complex H014 for the MFI - NIIR. However, the lack of experience and the necessary technological base for the creation of AFAR in the Soviet Union in those years forced the abandonment of this idea - and the design of H014 was already carried out in the version with three passive FARs (central and two side), which allowed to provide a view of the airspace in the front hemisphere in the range of angles along the azimuth of ±130°. While maintaining the leading role of the Research Institute in the creation of the entire H014 radar, the development of antenna systems with passive FARs for it was entrusted to the Research Institute named after V.V. Tikhomirov, who had already created and handed over by that time the country's first "aircraft" radar with Far "Zaslon" for MiG-31 interceptors.
Simultaneously with participation in the work on the N014 radar, the National Research Institute launched work on a promising radar with AFAR for the design bureau named after A.I. Mikoyan in the late 80s of a unique long-speed interceptor. Unfortunately, neither work was completed - they were prevented by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the corresponding change in the policy in the field of creation and procurement of weapons.