中国有源相控阵技术发展状况及其战略影响

1、-The Technological Maturity of Chinese AESA Technology & Strategic Impacts中国有源相控阵技术开展状况及其战略影响Image 1: APG-63(V)2 radar installed on an F-15C. The APG-63(V)2 was the first fighter mounted AESA radar to enter service worldwide. The first American F-15C unit to receive the new radars were stationed

2、 at Elmendorf in 2000. In parison, the first European AESA entered operational service in 2021 and the first Russian AESA equipped fighters (Mig-35) will not enter service until 2021. The initial US technological lead in AESA technology is attributable to substantial investments made in the late sta

3、ges of the Cold War. 图1：装备F-15C的APG-63(V)2型雷达。APG-63(V)2是世界围最先装备战斗机并投入使用的雷达。位于埃尔门多的美国F-15C单位夫于2000年最先接收该新型雷达。相比较而言，欧洲最早列装使用AESA雷达的时间是2021年，而俄罗斯的Mig-35战斗机于2021年前不会装备AESA雷达。美国在AESA技术上的领导地位，完全得益于冷战后期的巨额投资。Author's Note: During the research process on the J-31s avionics (for the uping Threat An

4、alysis of Foreign Stealth Fighters:J-31 Part II), it became apparent that very few credible, verifiable, and non-speculative English based source materials e*isted on the subject of PLA fighter radars. Basic information, such the proper name or designation of a radar system is utilized by a particul

5、ar fighter often varies between sources; performance figures associated with domestically produced radars is even harder to verify. This article's intent was to pile a wide variety of information on e*pected future developments in Chinese actively scanned electronic array (AESA) radars. Furtherm

6、ore, the current “Threat Analysis of Foreign Stealth Fighters: Part I Chengdu J-20 is largely dated with respect to developments with the J-20s avionics suite and this article subsequently provides more up-to-date information on the J-20s AESA. 作者注：在J-31航空电子设备研制过程中在?国外隐身战机威胁分析第二局部：飞J-31?中将进展说明，

7、目前尚没有多少足够可信，或经证实，以及非投机性的解放军战斗机雷达资料。一些根底信息，例如装备特定战斗机的雷达系统的名称或型号与其生产厂商有关；中国国产雷达的性能参数很难被证实。本文的主要目的在于收集汇总有关中国有源相控阵雷达未来开展方向的广泛大量信息。此外，当前?国外隐身战机威胁分析第一局部：成飞J-20?中已经对J-20的航电系统的开展状态进展了大量描述，本文随后将提供有关J-20有源相控阵雷达开展的最新信息。AESA radars represent a significant increase in detection power, reliability, and electronic

8、 warfare capabilities when pared to older electronically scanned arrays (ESA) and mechanically scanned arrays (MSA). This article largely focus on more technical aspects of AESAs but the basics of AESAs are cogently detailed by Karlo Kopp in "Active Electronically Steered Arrays A Maturing Tech

9、nology".比照拟早的电子扫描阵列无源相控阵雷达和机械扫描雷达，有源相控阵雷达具有在探测性能、可靠性和电子战方面均有大幅提升。本文主要关注AESA技术，但该技术的更详细描述可参考Karlo Kopp的?有源相控阵列一个成熟的技术?一文。Three main determinants dictate the ma*imum number of transmit receiver modules a fighter radar can acmodate: the volume of the aircrafts nose, the technological maturity of t

10、he firm/countrys T/R module packaging technology, and the effectiveness of the radar's thermal management system(s). The volume of the nose is a fairly intuitive constraint, the larger an aircrafts nose is, the larger the radar can be. For e*ample, the F-15Cs nose cone is able to acmodate the mu

11、ch larger 1,500 T/R element APG-63V(3) radar vs. the F-16C Block 60 with its paratively smaller nose cone and its 1,000 T/R element APG-80 AESA. Packaging technology refers to how many individual T/R modules can be installed within the finite space usually acplished by reductions in size of the indi

12、vidual T/R modules. The more technologically advanced a firms T/R packaging technology is, the smaller the individual T/R modules will be resulting in an increase density of the layout of T/R modules within the array. Thus, advancements in packaging technology enable engineers to acmodate more T/R m

13、odules within the fi*ed volume of the aircraft's nose.三个主要因素决定了战斗机雷达可容纳的T/R组件数量：飞机机头的容积容量、T/R组件封装技术的成熟度，以及雷达的热管理系统的工作效率。机头部位的容积是一个相当直观的约束条件，飞机鼻锥部位容积越大，雷达天线阵面越大。例如：F-15C的机头鼻锥可容纳具有1500个T/R组件的APG-63V(3)雷达，而F-16C Block 60只能容纳具有1000个T/R组件的APG-80雷达。通过减小单个T/R组件的体积，封装技术决定了再固定的空间可容纳的最大T/R组件数量。更加先进的封装技术可制

14、造体积更小的T/R组件，从而提高了阵面上的T/R组件布局密度。因此，在封装技术上的进步，将允许工程师们在固定的飞机鼻锥空间里布置更多的T/R组件。Image 2: US early production quad packed transmit receiver modules. The United States no longer produces quad channel T/R modules and has since produced single T/R module designs. Less advanced AESAs such as the Zhuk-AE utilize

15、 multi-T/R channel designs, it is possible China's first generation of AESAs also utilize a multi-T/R channel design.图2：早期美国制造的4联装T/R组件。美国不再制造4联装T/R组件，转而制造独立封装的T/R组件。少数先进AESA系统，例如：Zhuk-AE雷达，使用多联装T/R组件封装技术，中国第一代AESA系统可能也使用了多联装T/R组件设计。Lastly, thermal management systems are instrumental for the ope

16、ration of high power AESA radars. Unlike MSA systems, air cooling systems are insufficient to prevent heat related system failures and frequent maintenance issues:最后，热管理系统在高功耗AESA雷达中起到关键作用。与机械扫描MSA系统不同，风冷散热系统缺乏以防止散热相关的系统故障以及由其引起的频繁维修费用：“Due to the behavior of microwave transistor amplifiers, the pow

17、er efficiency of a TR module transmitter is typically less than 45%. As a result, an AESA will dissipate a lot of heat which must be e*tracted to prevent the transmitter chips being molten pools of Gallium Arsenide - reliability of GaAs MMIC chips improves the cooler they are run. Traditional air co

18、oling used in most established avionic hardware is ill suited to the high packaging density of an AESA, as a result of which modern AESAs are liquid cooled.US designs employ a polyalphaolefin (PAO) coolant similar to a synthetic hydraulic fluid. A typical liquid cooling system will use pumps to driv

19、e the coolant through channels in the antenna, and then route it to a heat e*changer. That might be an air cooled core (radiator style) or an immersed heat e*changer in a fuel tank - with a second liquid cooling loop to dump heat from the fuel tank. In parison with a conventional air cooled fighter

20、radar, the AESA will be more reliable but will require more electrical power and more cooling, and typically can produce much higher transmit power if needed for greater target detection range performance (increasing transmitted power has the drawback of increasing the footprint over which a hostile

21、 ESM or RWR can detect the radar Kopp, 2021“由于微波发射放大器的特性，T/R组件中发射局部的用电效率典型值小于45%。因此，AESA系统工作期间所产生的大量热量需要耗散，以防止发射局部芯片变为砷化镓“熔炉高可靠性的砷化镓微波单片集成电路需配备更佳的散热器。在众多已装备的航电机载设备中所使用的传统风冷技术，并不适用于高密度封装的AESA系统，因此，现代AESA系统采用液冷技术。美国设计研发的聚-烯烃PAO冷却液是一种合成液压液。典型的液冷系统往往采用一个液压泵驱动冷却液在天线的散热管道中流动，并最终通过冷却液将热量传递给热交换机。这种热交换机可以是类似

22、汽车引擎散热器的风冷器，也可以是安放在油箱中的浸入式热交换器。相比较传统风冷战斗机雷达而言，AESA系统将更加可靠，但同时需要更高的功耗和更苛刻的散热需求，通过发射更高功率电磁波信号，就可以获得更远的目标探测距离性能但更高的发射功率同样意味着雷达系统可能更早被敌方ESM或RWR设备侦测而暴露。-Kopp，2021。Image 3:The image which allegedly describes the number of TR modules within the J-10B, J-16, and J-20 has been posted on numerous defense foru

23、ms since at least December of 2021.图3：该图展示了截止2021年12月前在众多军事防御论坛广泛登载的J-10B、J-16和J-20上AESA系统的T/R组件数量。Chinese defense forums have posted copies of the image above which claim to cite the J-20s AESA T/R module count at 1,856, the J-16s at 1,760, and the J-10B at 1,200 T/R modules. It is likely the J-10B

24、 is the first Chinese fighter aircraft to feature an AESA; J-10B units achieved initial operational capability (IOC) in October of 2021. The volume of the J-10s nose cone is not substantially different from that of the F-16 or the Israeli Lavi from which the J-10 is partially based. Therefore, if on

25、e were to assume China had reached parity with the United States in packaging technology, the 1,200 T/R module figure would be plausible but slightly high. For parison, the APG-80 AESA for the F-16C/D Block 60 has 1,000 T/R modules (DSB, 2001). However, it is unlikely that China has been able to rea

26、ch parity with the United States in terms of packaging technology on their first generation AESA design. Neither Russia nor Israel was able to field 1,000 T/R element arrays within their first generation fighter mounted AESAs for similar nose volumes as the F-16 with the Mig-35 and Israeli F-16 resp

27、ectively.中国军事防御论坛上登载了图片的副本，图片声称J-20的AESA系统T/R组件数量为1856个，J-16为1760个，J-10B为1200个。J-10B飞机可能是首款使用AESA系统的中国国产战斗机；J-10B单位在2021年10月形成初步作战能力IOC。J-10飞机的鼻锥部位空间与F-16类同，或被J-10局部借鉴设计的以色列“狮战机。因此，如果有人假设中国已经在封装技术方面已经或局部到达美国的水平，则1200个T/R组件的数字可信度值得商榷，或至少略微被夸大了。作为比较，配装F-16C/D Block 60的APG-80 AESA雷达系统拥有1000个T/R组件美国国防科技

28、局，2001。然而，中国在第一代AESA系统设计时的封装技术似乎不可能到达美国同期水平。无论是俄罗斯还是以色列，以与F-16机头鼻锥容积相类似的Mig-35和以色列F-16，在其第一代AESA雷达系统中均未能放置1000个T/R组件。Russias first fighter mounted AESA radar, the Zhuk-AE, contained 652 T/R modules and was unveiled in 2007. The Israeli ELM-2052 AESA radar, which has been marketed for both the F-16 a

29、nd the FA-50 a joint Korean Aerospace Industry and Lockheed Martin F-16 derivative, has roughly 512 T/R modules (Trimble, 2021). The only firm outside of the United States that was able to produce a 1,000 T/R element within one generation was the French avionics firm Thales with its RB2E radar (Avio

30、nics Today, 2021). While the relative technological maturity of European, Israeli, and Russian AESAs is not directly indicative of the relative technological maturity of Chinas packaging technology, it is an indicator that the first generation AESA produced by China is likely not on par with the US

31、which is generally recognized as having the most technological mature T/R packaging technology (Kopp, 2021).俄罗斯首款装备战斗机的AESA雷达Zhuk-AE，包含652个T/R组件，并在2007年首次公开亮相。以色列的ELM-2052 AESA雷达，在F-16和FA-50战斗机上都拥有一定市场后者是国联合航空工业集团在洛克希德马丁公司F-16上研发的一款战机，据估计，该型雷达拥有约512个T/R组件Trimble公司，2021。除美国外乡公司外，只有法国航空业Thales公司在第一代AE

32、SA雷达RB2E上使用超过1000个T/R组件Avionics Today杂志，2021。虽然欧洲、以色列和俄罗斯的AESA雷达系统所采用的封装技术水平并不能直接说明中国的封装技术水平，但他们可作为参考，并说明在第一代AESA雷达系统中，中国不可能拥有与美国一样的技术水平，而美国被广泛成认是掌握最先进专业T/R组件封装技术的国家Kopp，2021。Image 4: T/R module count of US AESAs based upon the 2001 Defense Science Board report "Future DoD Airborne High-Frequen

33、cy Radar Needs/Resources"(link provided in Source 1 citation, refer to page 6). Image Credit: Air Power Australia, 2021.图4：美国AESA系统T/R组件数量，数据来自美国国防科学委员会2001年报告?未来国防机载高频雷达需求和资源?。The prospect of Chinas TR packaging technology being on par with US firms within a single generation of radars is even

34、 more dubious when one e*amines the preference for an incremental technological development within the Chinese aerospace industry. Several Chinese aviation authors have hypothesized that the J-10B serves as a “technological stepping stone with respect to the development of the more advanced J-20. Fo

35、r e*ample, Feng Cao argues the J-10B and the J-16 AESAs were likely used to test technology related to the J-20s AESA which would be a second generation Chinese design. By virtue of the larger nose volumes in the J-16 and J-20 airframes, it is highly probable the two aircraft will feature radars wit

36、h more T/R modules than the J-10Bs radar. 通过参考中国航空工业的渐增性开发模式不难推测，在单独一代雷达中，中国的封装技术水平很难赶超美国同行。许多中国航空作家都预测，与更加先进的J-20相比，J-10B只扮演了“技术垫脚石的角色。比方：朝峰音译认为，J-10B和J-16的AESA系统为装备J-20的AESA系统提供技术测试，而后者则是中国第二代有源相控雷达系统。凭借更宽阔的机头鼻锥局部容量，J-16和J-20所装备的AESA雷达可能拥有比J-10B更多数量的T/R组件。The J-16 utilizes the Su-27BS airframe whi

37、ch has room for a 0.9-1.1 meter aperture in the nose which is on par with the F-15 and F-22 in terms of volume (Kopp, 2021). The 1,500 element N036 Tikhomirov NIIP AESA has a similar aperture size to the electronically scanned array (ESA) Irbis-E radar featured in the Su-35 series of fighters which

38、shares the base Su-27 airframe. If the 1,760 T/R figure is correct it would indicate the Chinese aerospace industry has eclipsed Russian T/R module packaging technology as the N036 is arguably the most advanced Russian fighter mounted AESA. Similarly, the most advanced US fighter mounted AESAs such

39、as the APG-77(V)2 and APG-82(V)1 contain 1,500 T/R modules*. While the prospect of Chinese avionics firms reaching parity with US and Russian firms is more plausible within two generations of designs, the author is skeptical the 1,760 figure is correct given the unsubstantiated nature of the image a

40、nd the fairly substantial 260 T/R discrepancy between the J-16 radar figure pared to the most advanced US and Russian AESA designs. Therefore, the author speculates it would be more reasonable to assume a figure between 1,200 and 1,500 TR modules for the J-16 rather than the 1,760 figure.J-16采用了Su-2

41、7BS机身设计，在机头鼻锥部拥有约0.9m至1.1m的孔径，沉着量方面看，与F-15和F-22一样Kopp，2021。提赫米洛夫仪器制造研究院制造的N036 AESA雷达系统拥有1500个T/R组件，与电子扫描阵列ESAIrbis-E雷达无源相控阵PESA孔径尺寸相似，后者在与Su-27机身构造设计相仿的Su-35上使用。如果说装备J-16的AESA雷达确实拥有1760个T/R组件，则这将说明中国航空工业在T/R组件封装技术方面已经超越俄罗斯，因为N036雷达据信已是目前俄罗斯战机装备的最先进AESA雷达系统。相类似地，最先进的美式战机所装备的APG-77(V)2 和APG-82(V)1雷达同

42、样拥有约1500个T/R组件。通过两代AESA系统设计，中国航空工业技术水平赶超美国和俄罗斯同行的可能性值得疑心，因此，作者疑心1760个T/R组件的信息源于对未经证实图片的武断猜测，因而造成了J-16 AESA系统比美国和俄罗斯最先进AESA系统多260个T/R组件的说法。据此，作者推测，装备J-16的AESA雷达系统大约拥有1200至1500个T/R组件，而不是网传的1760个。Image 5: The si*th and most recent (as of January 2021 ) unveiled J-20 testing aircraft model "2021 &q

43、uot;.图5：最新曝光2021 年1月的第六代J-20测试验证机代号：2021 。The tentative designation for the J-20's AESA is the Type 1475. While the nose volume of the J-20 is certainly large, the jet overall is longer and heavier than the F-22, no credible figures for nose volume were available at the time of this publication.

44、 As with the J-16 T/R figure, the J-20 figure is substantially greater than that of the most advanced US and Russian designs. Even if the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology (NRIET) or the China Leihua Electronic Technology Research Institute (607 Institute) was able to develop suff

45、icient packaging technology that would enable 1,856 T/R modules within the J-20's nose, the density of the T/R modules would create significant cooling problems. For e*ample, Phazotron's single greatest difficulty in designing the Zuk-AE was the AESA's thermal management system (Kopp, 20

46、21). Without an effective cooling system, the Type 1475 would not be reliable at peak power output and would cause significant maintenance issues. Furthermore, with such a high number of T/R modules, the Type 1475 would be vulnerable to radar warning receiver (RWR) systems such as the ALR-94 without

47、 a very capable low probability intercept (LPI) mode.J-20 AESA系统方案设计为1475型。J-20的机头鼻锥空间比F-22更大，该款喷气式飞机机身更长，重量更大，目前，尚未见有关于机头鼻锥部位具体容量参数的相关报道。鉴于J-16的T/R组件数量，J-20的T/R组件应该比当前最先进的美国和俄罗斯AESA雷达设计更多。即便电子技术研究所NRIET或中国雷华电子技术研究所607研究所拥有足够先进的封装技术将1856个T/R组件装进J-20的鼻子，如此密度的T/R组件构造将造成严重的散热问题。假设不能有效解决散热问题，1475型雷达将不能提

48、供可靠的最大功率发射性能，并带来重大的维护问题。此外，拥有如此大数量的T/R组件，使得1475型雷达很难使用低截获模式，从而更容易被雷达告警接收机RWR系统侦获，例如：ALR-94型RWR。Many discussions with respect to the "relative stealthiness" of fighter aircraft are limited to merely paring radar cross section estimates while entirely neglecting alternate means of detecting

49、aircraft such as RWRs or other emission locator systems. David A*e succinctly pares the process of how RWRs function to how a flash light carried by another person is easily visible in a dark room. AESAs emit a substantial amount of energy, especially designs with a greater number of T/R modules, wh

50、ich enables passive emission locator systems to detect an AESA. The addition of an LPI software for AESAs mitigates the risk of RWR detection.许多有关战斗机“相对隐身性的讨论，只限于比较雷达截面积评估，而完全无视了其他对空侦察手段，例如：雷达告警接收机RWR和其他辐射定位系统。David A*e将RWR的功能简单类比为在黑暗房间中寻找一个随身携带闪光灯的人。AESA系统辐射可观的能量，特别是拥有更多数量T/R组件的AESA系统，更容易向被动辐射定位系统暴露自己的位置。在AESA系统中增加低截获