AN / SPY-1 - American multi-functional three-coordinate radar with phased array antenna (PAR) . It is the basis of the Aigis combat information and control system . Performs a search in azimuth and elevation, capture, classification and tracking of targets, command control of anti-aircraft missiles at the starting and marching sections of the trajectory. The centralization of all these functions in one system made it possible to reduce the number of radars, reduce mutual interference, and increase the number of escorted and fired targets (250 and 20, respectively). It is installed on American ships of the Ticonderoga and Arly Burke type, as well as ships of other countries.
| AN / SPY-1 | |
|---|---|
 Phased array radar SPY-1 on the superstructure of the cruiser "Lake Erie" type "Ticonderoga" | |
| basic information | |
| Type of | Three-coordinate radar aerial survey, tracking and guidance |
| A country |  USA |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin |
| Production start | 1983 |
| Status | Acting |
| Options | |
| Frequency range | 3100–3500 MHz (S band) |
| Pulse frequency | variable |
| Pulse duration | 50.8, 25.4, 12.7, 6.4 μs |
| Scan period | 5 s |
| Max. range | 320 km; 80 km (low flying targets) |
| Peak power | 4-6 MW |
| Antenna dimensions | 3.6 x 3.6 m |
| Beam width | 1.7 ° ( azimuth ) 1.7 ° ( elevation angle ) |
| Antenna gain | 42 dB |
Content
Creation History
The development of SPY-1 was started in 1965 on the basis of the radar with the AN / SPG-59 phased array for an unrealized project of the atomic frigate DLGN with the Tifon BIUS . Research and development work was carried out by the Laboratory of Applied Physics , Johns Hopkins University [1] . The first experimental ground-based copy with one grating was tested in 1973 at the laboratory of RCA (Radio Corporation of America) in . A year later, a similar single-grid radar was installed on the AVM-1 Norton Sound test ship. The first production model was installed in 1983 on the cruiser Ticonderoga.
Design
The radar includes an antenna , transmitter , signal processor , control system and accessories. The antenna consists of four fixed passive arrays [2] oriented in azimuth with an interval of 90º, each of which covers one segment (90º in azimuth, 90º in elevation) of the spatial hemisphere surrounding the ship. Each grating has the form of an octagon of 3.6 x 3.6 m in size, consisting of 4350 individual radiating elements. Cruisers of the Ticonderoga type have two gratings in the fore (front and right) and aft (rear and left) parts of the superstructure. On destroyers of the “Arly Burke” type, all four gratings are located in one superstructure and are directed at an angle of ± 45º to the ship’s diametrical plane. The radar has a wide frequency range, inside which the pulse frequency varies randomly, which complicates the work of electronic countermeasures of the enemy and anti-radar missiles [3] .
Principle of Operation
A phased array is a device that, by creating a specific picture of the electromagnetic field in the surrounding space, allows the formation of narrowly directed rays of arbitrary direction without mechanical rotation and orientation of the antenna itself. The absence of moving mechanical parts and electronic tuning make it possible to arbitrarily change the direction of the beam with an interval of the order of milliseconds.
The operating cycle of the SPY-1 radar includes three sub-cycles, which, depending on the situation, can be arbitrarily interleaved in time. Search (scanning) takes about half the time, when the radar sequentially generates narrowly directed rays that uniformly fill the corresponding quadrant of space. In this case, all targets located within a radius of 320 km from the ship are detected. For each detected target, several additional rays are formed within a few seconds after detection, which determine the speed (Doppler method) and the direction of movement of the target.
For some purposes, at the direction of the operator or in automatic mode, a tracking mode can be set in which the targets are irradiated with radar at intervals of several seconds. The formation of rays for scanning tracking targets is the second sub-cycle of the radar. Thus, the radar provides a tracking mode during the review (TWS).
The third subcycle is the control of flying anti-aircraft missiles (if any). For each launched anti-aircraft missile, the radar, with an interval of a few seconds, determines the trajectory parameters and, if necessary, reprograms the autopilot, directing the missile toward the target along the most optimal trajectory. Radio command rocket control occurs only on the starting and marching sections of the trajectory. At the final site (a few seconds before meeting the target), the rocket is put into semi-active homing mode using special backlight radars .
Missile launch moments are calculated by the control system in such a way that the number of missiles currently on the final section of the trajectory does not exceed the number of target illumination radars on the ship (4 on Ticonderoga cruisers, 3 on Arly Burk type destroyers). Using the described algorithm allows you to simultaneously fire several dozen targets (up to 20 targets for the cruiser type "Ticonderoga").
On ships that do not have the Aegis system, rocket control from the moment of launch was carried out by a dedicated guidance radar, so the number of simultaneously fired targets did not exceed the number of guidance radars.
Modifications
SPY-1A
SPY-1A - basic modification. The antenna is assembled from 140 modules, each of which contains up to 32 radiating elements and phase shifters, a total of 4096 radiators, 4352 phase shifters and 128 additional elements in each antenna. Modules are grouped into transmitting and receiving subarrays, which in turn are grouped into 32 transmitting and 68 receiving arrays [4] . According to other sources, the antenna consists of 68 modules with 64 elements each, which in total gives 4352 elements [5] . Transmitting arrays are controlled by 8 amplifiers. They include 32 amplitrons with a pulse power of 132 kW each.
Management is carried out by a computing system, the core of which consists of 16 AN / UYK-7 computers, AN / UYK-19 server and 11 AN / UYK-20 mini-computers; information is displayed on the 4 main color displays AN / UYA-4 and 4 auxiliary PT-525, allowing you to track up to 128 targets (or more in combat mode) [2] .
The SPY-1A modification was installed on the first 7 Ticonderoga-class cruisers, five of which have already been decommissioned [5] .
SPY-1B
The SPY-1B was first installed on the CG-59 Princeton cruiser. Provides longer pulses and higher beam angles for the detection of diving targets at the same impulse power. It has lightweight antennas (3.6 vs 5.4 t per grating) and 15 dB lower side lobe amplitude. Each antenna has 4,350 radiating elements. A more compact cable system allowed to reduce the size of the module to 2 elements (a total of 2175 modules with 2 elements in each [5] ). Using 7-bit coding of the phase shifter instead of 4-bit increased the accuracy of beam movement. Thanks to the use of VLSI, the number of equipment rooms decreased from 11 to 5, the weight of equipment - from 6.7 to 4.9 tons, the number of typical replacement elements - from 3,600 to 1,600. Signal processor characteristics have been significantly improved. Now it is assembled on 11 microprocessors of 16-bit architecture . A constant problem facing the designers of the radar is a large number of false positives from interference and the capture of non-combat targets (especially when working in coastal waters). In version 1B , manual adjustment of the receiver gain is introduced, which allows the operator, if necessary, to either reduce the sensitivity to reduce the number of false targets, or increase in order to be able to detect small targets. Tuning is carried out individually by sector, allowing you to change the monitoring conditions in threatened and non-threatened directions.
SPY-1D
SPY-1D - modification for installation on destroyers. All 4 antennas are located in one superstructure (on cruisers of the Ticonderoga type, the antennas are spaced apart in two by two superstructures). The radar is controlled using a UYK-43 computer with a UYQ-21 indicator. In the 1D modification, the communication channel with the missile is provided by the main antenna (in 1A , a separate transmitter and a special antenna were intended for this).
SPY-1D (V)
SPY-1D (V) - a modification optimized for the separation of low-flying targets in the presence of interference caused by the proximity of the coast or the action of electronic enemy counteraction systems. This modification has been developed since 1992 as part of the New Threat Response (NTR ) program, which involved the development of tools to combat high-speed, low-flying, small-sized targets, such as cruise missiles . During the development process, the experience of conducting military operations in the Persian Gulf in 1991 was taken into account. The main efforts were made to improve the signal processor. Changes were made to the design of the transmitter, as well as to the program that controls the operation of the radar. Increased the number of rays working in the system for highlighting moving targets. An adaptive beamforming mode is used taking into account the noise level in the corresponding direction. This modification has the ability to capture and track ballistic missiles . It is installed instead of 1D on destroyers of the “Arly Burke” type starting from DDG-91 .
SPY-1E
SPY-1E is the next generation active phased array radar ( Lockheed Martin also used the designation SPY-2, now known as VSR ). They support an open, reconfigurable architecture that makes it easy to use new signal processing technologies. Development began in 1999. It was planned to be installed on destroyers of the Zamvolt type (installation canceled) and aircraft carriers of the Gerald R. Ford type .
SPY-1F
SPY-1F is a modification for small frigate class ships. A lightweight version of 1D that uses a 2 × 4 m antenna with 1,836 elements and two-channel (instead of four-channel) signal processing. The detection range of high-altitude targets is 175 km, low-flying - 45 km. The first sample was tested in 2003. There is a modification SPY-1F (V) oriented to work in coastal areas with a high level of interference and the detection of low-flying cruise missiles.
SPY-1K
SPY-1K - Modification for Corvette class ships. Pulsed transmitter power of 600 kW, 1.5 m antenna with 912 elements. Used in the project 2,600-ton frigate, developed by a consortium of English. AFCON (Advanced Frigate Consortium) . Based on this project, the Norwegian frigate Fridtjof Nansen was created, and in 2003 he was one of two participants in the competition for the creation of a new warship for the Israeli Navy .
Ship installations
- Ticonderoga-class cruisers (USA, 1A on CG-47-58, 1B on CG-59-73).
- Destroyers such as "Arly Burke" (USA, 1D).
- Destroyers of the type "Congo" (Japan, modification 1D).
- Destroyers of the Atago type (Japan, modification 1D).
- KDX-III destroyers (Korea, modification 1D).
- Frigates of the Fridtjof Nansen type (Norway, 1F).
- Frigates of the Alvaro de Bazan type (Spain, 1D).
In the future, the radar is supposed to be installed on destroyers like "Hobart" (Australia).
Taiwan was also interested in acquiring radar for its future ships, but in 2000 it was refused to avoid complications in Sino-US relations .
See also
- AN / SPG-59 is a prototype.
- Aegis
- USS Norton Sound (AVM-1)
- DLGN missile cruiser
- Ticonderoga missile cruisers
Notes
- ↑ Klingaman, William K. APL, Fifty Years of Service to the Nation: A History of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. (English) - Laurel, MD: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , 1993. - P.193-194 - 283 p. - ISBN 0-912025-04-2 .
- ↑ 1 2 Dranidis, Dimitris V. Shipboard phased-array radars (English) // Waypoint magazine. - February 2003. - Iss. 3 .
- ↑ Polmar N. Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircrafts of the US Navy. 17th Editon. - Naval Institute Press, 2001 .-- 657 p.
- ↑ Friedman N. Naval Institute Guide to World Navy Weapon Systems. 5th Editon. - Naval Institute Press, 2006 .-- 912 p.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Ballistic Missile Defense: The Aegis SPY-1 Radar . mostlymissiledefense.com (August 3, 2012).