|  Thales
has developed the RBE2 AESA, an enhancement of the multi-function
radar installed on the Naval Rafale. This radar is already designed
to accomodate AESA front end. Thales launched the development
of an AESA derivative for the Rafale in 1997, the program began
developmental testing with Rafale aircraft in 2003 and 2004.
As of April 2007,
Thales AESA RBE2 entered production engineering, following the
conclusion of a series of flight tests on Mirage 2000 test-bed
aircraft. Integration and testing of the AESA radar on board
the Rafale are planned for the second quarter of 2007. Series
production start-up is scheduled for late 2010. In October 2006,
the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) and the industry
team behind the Rafale program agreed to a roadmap that will
deliver Rafale fighters equipped with a new generation of sensors,
including the AESA RBE2 radar, to the French Air Force and Navy
by 2012.
Thales has been working with United Monolithic Semiconductors
(UMS), a Franco-German enterprise owned by EADS and Thales,
developing and producing microwave T/R modules. UMS optimized
the gallium arsenide modules forming the radar’s antenna.
AESA design offers electronic scanning of the radar beam on
both plans, (vertical and horizontal) offering new capabilities
beyond the reach of conventional radars. These systems enable
the simultaneous designation of multiple targets to different
air-to-air missiles, while performing searches in directions
completely independent of the target tracks. The level of situational
awareness provided by AESA radar far exceeds anything available
with conventional radars. RBE2 uses electronic scanning technologies
to improve the aircraft low-altitude penetration capability
by generating 3D ground map covering a wide area forward of
the aircraft, supporting terrain following and maneuvers in
the horizontal plane within the area scanned by the radar. The
radar will also offer a high resolution ground mapping mode.
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