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Name Theta Ang Mag

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AIRBORNE PHASED ARRAY RADAR (APAR) Jorge Salazar, Eric Loew, J. Vivekanandan, Wen Chau Lee and V. Chandrasekar EARTH OBSERVATORY LABORATORY, NATIONAL CENTER FOR ARMOSPHERIC RESEARCH Boulder, Colorado 80307 US

EOL is managed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research and sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publications are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

NCAR/EOL P.O. Box 3000 Boulder, CO 80307 303.497.8801 ph 303.497.8770 fax www.eol.ucar.edu

I. Introduction Airborne radar systems have been used successfully to study air motion and microphysical characteristics in storms where ground-based radars are ineffective. Studies of tropical convection, lake-effect snow, and hurricane eye walls, and rain bands are examples of atmospheric phenomena studied by the Electra Doppler Radar (ELDORA) system. Retirement of Naval Research Lab P-3 aircraft beginning 2013 effectively terminates future deployment of ELDORA in the current configuration. Continuation of airborne radar capabilities necessitated NCAR’s Earth Observing Laboratory to investigate possible development of active electronic scanned phased array radar mounted on the fuselage of the NSF/NCAR C-130 turboprop aircraft. Electronic scanning capability offers more accurate and higher temporal resolution meteorological observations in a shorter dwell time when compared to a mechanically scanned beam. Recent advances in monolithic microwave integrated circuits in the commercial manufacturing area show potential for building robust phased array radar. This poster describes preliminary design concept, development timeline and cost.

III. Airborne Phased Array Radar (APAR) Concept

Right Side APAR

Top APAR

APAR Line Replacement Unit (LRU) (8x8 elements)

Antenna radome

Backplane

Antenna array (LRU 8x8 elem.)

Quad-TR Modules

Parameter Specification Frequency 5.4 GHZ Wavelength 5.55 cm Element spacing (0.5 lambda)

2.78 cm

Number of Elements (#Nx, #Ny)

56, 64 (3584)

#LRUx, #LRUy 7, 8 Tx Beamwidth (Uniform)

θ0: 1.8o, 1.6o

θ45: 2.1o, 1.8o

Rx Beamwidth (Taylor -25dB, n=4)

θ0: 1.9o, 2.2o

θ45: 2.2o, 2.5o

Tx Gain Rx Gain

40dB 39dB

Xpol isolation (ATSR) <-25dB Spatial Resolution at 10 km

~350m

Tx Power (4W per TR mod.)

14.3kW

Sensitivity @10km (include attenuation at 10 mm h-1)

-12dBZ

APAR Technical Characteristics

Array antenna backplane • Data & Control (Master FPGA) • Power DC/DC (1+1) • RF Power Div/Comb Master board • Array Formatter board

Quad TR modules •  Quad= 4 TR modules •  Total= 3584 TR modules

Array antenna Front-end •  Antenna radiators •  Balanced feed •  RF beamformer •  Power dist. board •  Data dist. Board •  Array antenna calibration

LRU (8x8) ASP PAR project

Array Formatter controller

Up/Down Converter

Digital Transceiver

Host Computer

1  

2  

3  

4  

Radar back-end • UP/DOWN converter • Digital Transceiver • Host Computer • Waveform design • Data processing

M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc.

Lowell, Massachusetts 01851• North America 800.366.2266• Europe +353.21.244.6400• India +91.80.43537383• China +86.21.5108.6464

macomtech.com

Radar Products

Affordable Aerospace and Defense SolutionsApplying commercial manufacturing processes forhigh performance aerospace and defense applications

Phased array apertures have become the technology of choice for many defense radar,communications and electronic warfare applications. This technology is used insystems as diverse as ship-to-ship communications, UAV data links, high power volumesearch radar, and wideband electronic warfare systems. These systems, whiledisplaying very high performance, also can be very costly...until now.

Cost growth of phased array systems is limiting the deployment of the technologyfor defense applications while making it virtually impossible to realize commercialsystems. M/A-COM Technology Solutions is actively applying commercial manufacturingpractices to create high performance, affordable phased array building blocks. There isa stark contrast between the worlds of defense and commercial manufacturing. In thecommercial world, the mantra is speed to market and cost. To be a viable supplier, it ispresumed that you will meet specification. Commonly, in the defense world,technology maturation programs are often implemented after the technology hasfailed to deliver—resulting in years of program delays with concomitant cost growth.

M/A-COM Tech’s work on the MPAR (Multifunction Phased Array Radar) program isan excellent example of the application of commercial manufacturing practicesto a technically demanding radar application. In addition to the technical demands,implementation of MPAR requires an order of magnitude or more reduction in costas compared to previous defense phased array systems. To achieve these goals,M/A-COM Tech has:

• Designed and manufactured highly integrated MMICs to minimize the totalpart count and simplify manufacturing at the next level of assembly

• Packaged all MMICs in industry standard surface mount plastic packages• Designed and manufactured printed circuit board (PCB) transmit/receive (T/R)

modules to facilitate automated assembly and test• Designed and manufactured PCB-based line replaceable unit (LRU)

which forms the fundamental RF building block for the radar system

MPAR is a dual polarization S-band system. Similar approaches can be takenat other frequencies. We have applied similar methodologies to:

• Highly Integrated MMICs• Plastic packaging• PCB-based T/R modules and higher level assembles• C, X, and Ku bands

For more details, contact your M/A-COM Tech sales office or visit macomtech.com

Front view of MPAR LRUdisplaying the radiating elements

Back view of MPAR LRUdisplaying the active electronics

PCB-based T/R module

Multifunction transmit ICfor S-band radar containing multiplegain stages, two 6-bit phase shifters

and two 4-bit constant phasedigital attenuators

14

Radar+EW brochure_Sep2011_r2-092611.qxd:Layout 1 9/28/11 8:35 AM Page 14

ATT V-Pol

PA PS

Rx

Tx SINGLE POLARIZATION

LNA ATT H-Pol

V-Pol PA

PS Rx

DUAL POL. (ATAR) Tx

LNA ATT PS

ATT PS

ATT PS

LNA

PA

LNA

Rx-H

Rx-V

Tx-H/V

H-Pol

V-Pol

DUAL POL. (ATSR)

APAR Architecture C130

Comparison Between ELDORA and the Proposed C-band Phased Array radar

• Mechanically scanned – inflexible, least reliable part of radar

• Operates at X band – subject to large attenuation

• Transmits high peak power at low duty cycle – single point failure, lifetime < 10,000 hrs

• Fixed antenna beamwidth and gain

• Limited to single polarization • Calibration is straightforward

• Electronically scanned – fast, flexible, reliable

•  Operates at C band – less effected by attenuation

• Transmits moderate peak power at moderate duty cycle – fault tolerant, lifetime > 40,000 hrs

•  Antenna beamwidth and gain varies with scan angle

• Doppler and dual-polarization measurements (ZDR, KDP, LDR, ρHV)

• Calibration is complex Fig. 1. Hurricane Rita Reflectivity from ELDORA at 2 km MSL, 22 September 2005. Attenuation at X-band limited detection of inner rainband.

II. Background Due to the large surface area of the C-130 fuselage, the radar system can be either C- or X-band. Sensitivity of the X-band radar system is about 5 dB better than C-band in the absence of any significant attenuation due to precipitation. Signal attenuation at X-band is about a factor of five to seven times larger. As a result, an X-band radar fails to penetrate a heavier precipitation region when compared to C-band radar. Figure 1 shows ELDORA X-band radar’s limitation for detecting inner rainband as a result of attenuation. EOL is in the process of developing automatic data quality control of ELDORA data and estimating real-time dual-Doppler winds. This package will be adopted for an e-scan system. One of the significant enhancements to the proposed airborne radar is polarization capability for estimating precipitation and cloud microphysics. A number of simulation studies suggest high quality polarimetric measurements could be collected over limited scan coverage.

Fig. 2. The proposed system consists of four, C-band active electronically scanned array antennas (AESAs) strategically mounted on the fuselage of the NSF/NCAR C130 turboprop aircraft

Fig. 3. APAR architecture and principal subsystems

Fig. 4. TR-Module architecture options for APAR: a) Single Polarization, b) dual-polarization for alternate transmit and alternate receive (ATAR) and, c) dual-polarization alternate transmit and simultaneous receive (ATSR)

Array antenna front-end Array TR-modules Array antenna back-plane Radar back-end

1

2

4  

3

M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc.

Lowell, Massachusetts 01851• North America 800.366.2266• Europe +353.21.244.6400• India +91.80.43537383• China +86.21.5108.6464

macomtech.com

Radar Products

Affordable Aerospace and Defense SolutionsApplying commercial manufacturing processes forhigh performance aerospace and defense applications

Phased array apertures have become the technology of choice for many defense radar,communications and electronic warfare applications. This technology is used insystems as diverse as ship-to-ship communications, UAV data links, high power volumesearch radar, and wideband electronic warfare systems. These systems, whiledisplaying very high performance, also can be very costly...until now.

Cost growth of phased array systems is limiting the deployment of the technologyfor defense applications while making it virtually impossible to realize commercialsystems. M/A-COM Technology Solutions is actively applying commercial manufacturingpractices to create high performance, affordable phased array building blocks. There isa stark contrast between the worlds of defense and commercial manufacturing. In thecommercial world, the mantra is speed to market and cost. To be a viable supplier, it ispresumed that you will meet specification. Commonly, in the defense world,technology maturation programs are often implemented after the technology hasfailed to deliver—resulting in years of program delays with concomitant cost growth.

M/A-COM Tech’s work on the MPAR (Multifunction Phased Array Radar) program isan excellent example of the application of commercial manufacturing practicesto a technically demanding radar application. In addition to the technical demands,implementation of MPAR requires an order of magnitude or more reduction in costas compared to previous defense phased array systems. To achieve these goals,M/A-COM Tech has:

• Designed and manufactured highly integrated MMICs to minimize the totalpart count and simplify manufacturing at the next level of assembly

• Packaged all MMICs in industry standard surface mount plastic packages• Designed and manufactured printed circuit board (PCB) transmit/receive (T/R)

modules to facilitate automated assembly and test• Designed and manufactured PCB-based line replaceable unit (LRU)

which forms the fundamental RF building block for the radar system

MPAR is a dual polarization S-band system. Similar approaches can be takenat other frequencies. We have applied similar methodologies to:

• Highly Integrated MMICs• Plastic packaging• PCB-based T/R modules and higher level assembles• C, X, and Ku bands

For more details, contact your M/A-COM Tech sales office or visit macomtech.com

Front view of MPAR LRUdisplaying the radiating elements

Back view of MPAR LRUdisplaying the active electronics

PCB-based T/R module

Multifunction transmit ICfor S-band radar containing multiplegain stages, two 6-bit phase shifters

and two 4-bit constant phasedigital attenuators

14

Radar+EW brochure_Sep2011_r2-092611.qxd:Layout 1 9/28/11 8:35 AM Page 14

V. APAR Development timeline and hardware cost estimate  AUG    2011  

AUG  2013  

AUG  2014  

AUG  2015  

AUG  2016  

1  

AUG  2017  

AUG  2018  

3

4  

ASP - LRU passive radiator

ASP - LRU functional antenna

LRU and radar back-end testing

Four airborne AESA’s; ~$20M WHITE  PAPER  

Multi-LRU AESA prototype; ~$7M

2  

 AUG    2010  

 AUG    2012  

MIT/LL -- Risk Reduction Effort; $547 K

2  

M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc.

Lowell, Massachusetts 01851• North America 800.366.2266• Europe +353.21.244.6400• India +91.80.43537383• China +86.21.5108.6464

macomtech.com

Radar Products

Affordable Aerospace and Defense SolutionsApplying commercial manufacturing processes forhigh performance aerospace and defense applications

Phased array apertures have become the technology of choice for many defense radar,communications and electronic warfare applications. This technology is used insystems as diverse as ship-to-ship communications, UAV data links, high power volumesearch radar, and wideband electronic warfare systems. These systems, whiledisplaying very high performance, also can be very costly...until now.

Cost growth of phased array systems is limiting the deployment of the technologyfor defense applications while making it virtually impossible to realize commercialsystems. M/A-COM Technology Solutions is actively applying commercial manufacturingpractices to create high performance, affordable phased array building blocks. There isa stark contrast between the worlds of defense and commercial manufacturing. In thecommercial world, the mantra is speed to market and cost. To be a viable supplier, it ispresumed that you will meet specification. Commonly, in the defense world,technology maturation programs are often implemented after the technology hasfailed to deliver—resulting in years of program delays with concomitant cost growth.

M/A-COM Tech’s work on the MPAR (Multifunction Phased Array Radar) program isan excellent example of the application of commercial manufacturing practicesto a technically demanding radar application. In addition to the technical demands,implementation of MPAR requires an order of magnitude or more reduction in costas compared to previous defense phased array systems. To achieve these goals,M/A-COM Tech has:

• Designed and manufactured highly integrated MMICs to minimize the totalpart count and simplify manufacturing at the next level of assembly

• Packaged all MMICs in industry standard surface mount plastic packages• Designed and manufactured printed circuit board (PCB) transmit/receive (T/R)

modules to facilitate automated assembly and test• Designed and manufactured PCB-based line replaceable unit (LRU)

which forms the fundamental RF building block for the radar system

MPAR is a dual polarization S-band system. Similar approaches can be takenat other frequencies. We have applied similar methodologies to:

• Highly Integrated MMICs• Plastic packaging• PCB-based T/R modules and higher level assembles• C, X, and Ku bands

For more details, contact your M/A-COM Tech sales office or visit macomtech.com

Front view of MPAR LRUdisplaying the radiating elements

Back view of MPAR LRUdisplaying the active electronics

PCB-based T/R module

Multifunction transmit ICfor S-band radar containing multiplegain stages, two 6-bit phase shifters

and two 4-bit constant phasedigital attenuators

14

Radar+EW brochure_Sep2011_r2-092611.qxd:Layout 1 9/28/11 8:35 AM Page 14

$1.3M

$1.6M

$2.4M

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

Single Pol Dual Pol (ATAR) Dual Pol (ATSR)

Fig. 5. APAR hardware cost as function of polarization capability

Fig.5. A new radiating micro strip patch antenna element using a Defected Ground Structure has been designed for achieving high polarization performance at scan angles away from boresight. A cross-polarization below -25dB is obtained in the diagonal plane using HFSS simulation software

IV. APAR Transmit and receive (TR) module and micro strip patch antenna

APAR Cost

Har

dwar

e C

ost (

$)

Bottom APAR