SAAB unveil 2000 module GaN based radar & BMD capable radar.

[muttbutt]

Saab pulled off a bit of technological surprise in rainy Gothenburg on Monday. I had shown up expecting something new, but not the first-off-the-line Giraffe 4A radar, complete with gallium-nitride (GaN) active electronically scanned array technology. Everyone's been talking about GaN and its merits for a few years, but as far as we knew the closest thing to a production application was Northrop Grumman's G/ATOR, which is supposed to get upgrated to GaN (from the currently standard gallium arsenide, or GaAs) in time to be operational in 2018-19.

Meanwhile, Saab's electro-tomtens in Gothenburg were quietly working in the moonlit farmyard, as tomtens do, and now have a customer (not named) for the GaN-based. 2,000-module Giraffe 4A, with delivery due in 2016.
That was the industry-news bit. However, the way they showed it off was quietly spectacular. We media reptiles first saw it outside the assembly hangar, antenna up and open to the sky. While we had lunch (fish was present, need you ask?) they folded the antenna down into its container, loaded the radar on to a truck and drove it up a short, steep dirt track into the woods. They hooked it up to a generator, in the rain, popped the antenna up again and proceeded to run a series of live demos for the media, powering down between each group to avoid microwaving our brains.
They did this with a near-brand-new development article. Moreover, none of the Swedish engineers saw anything unusual about this, at all.

Linky link.
http://aviationweek.com/blog/thats-what-i-call-confidence

 

[muttbutt]

Defence and security company Saab extends its surface radar portfolio, with the introduction of five all-new complementary Giraffe radars for land and sea. This strengthens the current product offering but also takes the Giraffe firmly into the long-range air surveillance domain and puts an entirely new capability onto the market.
Saab’s combat-proven and highly-regarded surface radar portfolio, including the renowned Giraffe AMB and Arthur radars, has been improved and expanded through the addition of new technologies and designs. Alongside its existing products, Saab is now producing new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar variants for land and sea.
These radars use leap-ahead design techniques that put them in a class of their own in terms of performance and capability. For the first time Saab’s Giraffe radars also offer a solution for long-range air surveillance. There is now a Giraffe option for every air surveillance and air defence application, on land and at sea.
Saab has more than 30 years of AESA design experience. This depth of experience –and Saab’s understanding of radar cost, performance, reliability and packaging issues – results in a unique technology solution. Saab’s advanced surface-based radars are highly-effective against multiple ‘difficult’ air targets in the most dense and challenging operational environments.
“I’m proud to present this important milestone in our surface radar development,” says Micael Johansson, head of Saab’s business area Electronic Defence Systems. “Our portfolio now caters for all advanced radar requirements, from very short- to long-range air defence, but also surveillance, and weapons location with true multi-role functionality.”
Members of Saab’s surface-based radar family for land and sea now include:
Giraffe 1X and Sea Giraffe 1X: short-range radars fitted with an X-band AESA, offering a comprehensive set of 3D functions with impressive performance and flexibility.
Giraffe 4A and Sea Giraffe 4A: medium- to long-range radars, combining air surveillance, air defence, sense and warn and weapon locating capabilities in a single, low-footprint S-band AESA-based unit.
Giraffe 8A: a long-range S-band AESA radar, including anti-ballistic missile capability, that pushes performance and functionality to a new level.

http://www.saabgroup.com/en/About-Saab/Newsroom/Press-releases--News/2014---5/Saab-launches-five-new-radars-for-total-air-domain-awareness/#.U3PgznZ-KME

 

[F-14D]

They will also use GaN-based AESAs as jammers on the Gripen E.

 

[Hot Breath]

Now, they just have to develop a long-range SAM to utilise it's capabilities to the full...

 

[swerve]

Does anyone know where SAAB gets its GaN modules from?

 

[stealthflanker]

Aside from increased power aperture product offered by the GaN over GaAs, i wonder if there are any other advantages.

 

[Moose]

Aside from increased power aperture product offered by the GaN over GaAs, i wonder if there are any other advantages.

From NAVAIR:

In comparison to Gallium Arsenide, Gallium Nitride HPAs can operate at higher voltage and junction temperatures. The higher voltage enables higher efficiencies which along with higher junction temperatures and higher thermal conductivity enable easier thermal management design. Current GaN AESA thermal designs enable over 2 watts per square inch average transmit power relatively independent of frequency.