Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) successfully displayed live tracks with an innovative solid state active electronically steered antenna used in an engineering development model of the Scalable Solid-State S-band Radar (S4R). The system utilizes new high power silicon carbide (SiC) based Transmit/Receive (T/R) modules. “According to Carl Bannar, vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Radar Systems business, the system provides evidence of a proven approach using high-power Silicon Carbide technology. S4R design is derived from the S-band antenna developed for the U.S. Navy’s Volume Search Radar on the DDG-1000 next-generation destroyer.
The S4R EDM is an active, electronically-steered, antenna-based radar system designed to be scalable to support multiple missions, including air surveillance, cruise missile defense, ballistic missile defense, counter target acquisition and littoral operations.
The S4R EDM was developed using Silicon Carbide (SiC) based high-power Transmit/Receive (T/R) modules. SiC provides greater power than other commonly used materials due to its increased heat tolerance. With more power, the radar has longer range and provides more precise target discrimination. Transmit/Receive modules are the most critical components of a solid-state antenna. They serve as multiple function circuits that generate and transmit signal power over the full face of the radar, receive the reflected radar signal, amplify it for processing and electronically steer the radio frequency beams in space.
