PHILADELPHIA – RF and microwave experts at Northrop Grumman Corp. will provide power amplifier modules for the radar system aboard the U.S. Navy E-2D carrier-based surveillance aircraft under terms of a $198 million order announced earlier this month.
Officials of the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support segment in Philadelphia are asking the Northrop Grumman Aeronautics systems segment in Melbourne, Fla., for 608 power amplifier module spares in support of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft.
The E-2D's power amplifier modules are key avionics components in the aircraft’s radar and mission systems. They amplify high-frequency radio signals to provide the necessary transmitted power for the aircraft’s radar and other RF systems that enable long-range detection, surveillance, and communications.
The AN/APY-9 is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) pulse-Doppler UHF multi-mode radar designed for airborne early warning and control, and provides 360-degree situational awareness. Its high-power solid-state transmitters increase reliability and sensitivity, with digital receivers and exciters that provide waveform flexibility, low noise, and increased sensitivity.
Radar power amplifiers
The Hawkeye's power amplifier modules are part of the aircraft’s radar transmitter and related RF subsystems, and help generate the high-power signals for the Hawkeye's Lockheed Martin AN/APY-9 airborne early warning radar and related mission equipment.
These power amplifiers boost signal power so the E-2D can detect and track targets at extended ranges and support its airborne early-warning role. The E-2D is an airborne early warning and battle management aircraft that houses the powerful AN/APY-9 radar in a rotating radome above the fuselage. It provides long-range detection of aircraft, missiles, ships, and other threats, while coordinating jet fighters and naval forces in complex combat environments.
Each power amplifier module is a self-contained, ruggedized RF electronics assembly with silicon carbide transistor-based amplifiers, phase shifters, attenuators, and transmit/receive switching circuitry, and collectively generate a steerable UHF radar beam that enables the aircraft to spot stealth aircraft, cruise missiles, and surface targets simultaneously at ranges exceeding 350 nautical miles.
The APY-9 uses a distributed architecture in which many power amplifier modules work together to build up the total transmitted power; each power amplifier module is a building block of the transmitter array.
Silicon carbide transistors
The E-2D's power amplifier modules use silicon carbide transistors, which can provide better switching performance than silicon metal oxide silicon field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs).
Silicon carbide has demonstrated greater than twice the power density of silicon power devices at greater efficiency. For UHF radar, silicon carbide transistors can handle the high voltages and high temperatures generated during high-power pulse transmission, dissipate heat efficiently, and maintain stable performance across wide temperature ranges.
On this order, Northrop Grumman will do the work in Melbourne, Fla., and should be finished by February 2029. For more information contact Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems online at www.northropgrumman.com/who-we-are/business-sectors/aeronautics-systems, or the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support-Philadelphia at www.navsup.navy.mil/NAVSUP-Enterprise/NAVSUP-Weapon-Systems-Support/Welcome-Philadelphia.
