'Israel Radar' Equipped on Our Fighter Jets

[Monthly Defense Times Editor-in-Chief An Seung-beom] The EL/M-2032 radar developed by ELTA in Israel was designed to be mounted on the Israeli Air Force's F-16 fighter jets. This system was also adopted for the Chilean Air Force's F-5E/F fighter upgrade, the Singapore Air Force's F-5E/F upgrade program, and was installed on the Indian Navy's Sea Harrier fighter jets. Additionally, it was selected as a core system for the Romanian Air Force's MiG-21 fighter upgrade, and the same radar system is equipped on our Air Force's FA-50 fighter jets.

The reason why the EL/M-2032 radar has been adopted by multiple countries and mounted on various platforms is primarily because the system was designed to broadly accommodate the diverse requirements of different ordering countries.

The hardware of the EL/M-2032 radar is modularly designed. Among the LRU (Line Replaceable Unit) components of this system, the antenna section offers various size options, allowing the selection of an antenna that fits the volume of different radomes for each fighter jet.

Furthermore, the transmitter of the antenna can also be selected according to the chosen antenna, with output options available. To broadly accommodate new systems or airborne armaments according to the customer's requirements, the radar is equipped with relatively large spare memory and computing power reserves.

Since the EL/M-2032 radar was developed for the Israeli Air Force's F-16 fighter jets, it is similar in nature to the APG-68 series radar currently mounted on F-16 fighters. Many functions are similar to those of the APG-68 radar. Like the APG-68 radar, the EL/M-2032 radar has modes for precision tracking, and both share modes for close-range air-to-air combat.

On the other hand, the EL/M-2032 radar also surpasses the APG-68 radar in some aspects. First, the antenna's energy efficiency has increased compared to the APG-68 radar, resulting in a longer detection range. While the APG-68 radar has a tracking mode in air combat mode, the EL/M-2032 radar additionally has a separate correction mode.

Although the APG-68 radar only has a maritime mode, the EL/M-2032 radar features multiple maritime modes, including multi-target tracking mode, precise maritime target tracking mode, and maritime target identification mode.

The reason the EL/M-2032 radar has various maritime modes is because it was developed to broadly accommodate the diverse requirements of different ordering countries. Also, having a DTT (Dual Target Track) mode like the APG-70 radar mounted on the F-15E is another distinguishing feature of the EL/M-2032 radar compared to the APG-68 radar.

● Specifications

Weight: 72kg ~ 100kg (depending on antenna size)

Power Output: 2KVA ~ 3KVA

Air-to-Air Detection Range: approximately 150 km (based on fighter jet target)

Air-to-Ground Target Acquisition Range: approximately 150 km

Air-to-Ship Identification/Tracking Range: approximately 280 km

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.