India's Uttam AESA Radar Is Close To Clearing A Major Milestone — Here's The Lowdown

India’s indigenously developed Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Uttam radar is nearing of completion of its flight trials.

In an interview with Anantha Krishnan M of Tarmak Media House, ADA Director Dr Jitendra Jadhav disclosed that the Uttam radar has been successfully integrated into the Tejas Mk-1 jet.

Having undergone more than 125 flight tests, including both Air-to-Air (A2A) and Air-to-Ground (A2G) modes, the radar has showcased performance equivalent to or greater than the Israeli Elta 2052 AESA radar across almost all parameters.

Dr Jadhav says, "We have integrated the Uttam radar with Tejas Mk-1 and completed 125 flights. We have completed the A2A and A2G performance and other features [of the radar]," adding that "a few of the flight tests are pending which will be conducted shortly, but today, as a radar, it is functioning on par with imported radars, and in some areas, it performs much better than imported radars."

In fact, according to the ADA director, the radar has been cleared for hardware production as well.

He says, "We have already given the hardware clearance for production. The production can now proceed concurrently till we finish some tests which are pending, and then hopefully, we are expecting that by the 41st aircraft, the Uttam radar will be integrated into the MK-1A."

The Israeli Elta 2052 radar will be installed on the first 40 Tejas Mk-1A serially produced jets.

The remaining 43 Tejas Mk-1A jets will feature the indigenously developed Uttam AESA radar, propelling India into the select group of nations that have mastered this technology, including the US, UK, France, Russia, China, Germany, Italy, Israel, and Japan.

AESA radars are modern radars that, instead of using a single antenna dish in a mechanically steered radar, contain hundreds or thousands of small transmitter/receiver modules (TRMs) that are electronically controlled.

Their electronic control makes these radars more precise, gives it increased range, and less prone to failure.

Unlike radars using mechanically steered antennas, which rely on machinery to rotate and change the orientation of the antenna, AESA radars electronically steer the radar beam, removing any moving parts and making them more reliable.

These TRMs, in comparison to a single antenna to transmit and receive signals, can operate on independent frequencies, enabling the radar to perform multiple tasks simultaneously, such as searching for targets in the air while tracking multiple targets.

Each TRM can modulate its power levels to focus energy more efficiently, resulting in better target tracking.

Since each TRM can operate on different frequencies, the radar can conduct frequency-hopping to avoid radar jamming while simultaneously jamming enemy radars, enhancing the jet's electronic counter-countermeasures capability (ECCM).

Moreover, the ability of TRMs to operate at different frequencies allows the radar to operate in a low-probability of intercept (LPI) mode.

Typically, when any radar operates, the energy of the radar signal is detected by precise receivers called radar warning receivers (RWRs), which can detect and identify the presence of the radar (and, hence the fighter jet carrying the radar) in a given area, alerting the enemy.

These RWRs can even precisely identify the location of the radar emissions (hence the jet) making it vulnerable to potential reprisals.

Due to the frequency-hopping ability of the TRMs of the AESA radar operating in LPI mode, it becomes much harder to detect the presence of the radar by enemy RWR sensors.

The current Uttam radar is supposed to use TRM modules made of Gallium Arsenide (GaAs). Another, more advanced version using TRMs made of new Gallium Nitride (GaN) is under development and is intended for use on the LCA Mk-2 jet, 5th generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), and potentially even on the Su-30 MKI upgrade.

The GaN TRM-based AESA radars are more efficient and have increased detection range, to the tune of 20 to 25 percent.

With the new Uttam AESA radar nearing completion of testing and the advanced GaN variant under development, most of the Indian Air Force's fighter jets will sport Indian-made radars in the near future.