China says it has a long-range radar that can spot U.S. stealth aircraft at over-the-horizon distances
BEIJING – China reportedly has developed an over-the-horizon maritime early warning radar system that its creator claims can detect stealth aircraft far beyond visual range, an advanced capability that could threaten U.S. fifth-generation fighters operating in the area. Business Insider reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
12 June 2019 -- Liu Yongtan, the team leader for the radar project, says the radar can detect enemy air and naval threats hundreds of kilometers away in any weather condition. The 83-year-old creator says the radar is also immune to anti-radiation missiles, which track the point of origin for electromagnetic waves.
Western experts argue that this type of long-range radar has limitations that prevent it from being the death of a fifth-generation fighter like the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. Major drawbacks include low resolution and lack of a real-time target-grade track, and imprecise fixes that are inadequate for targeting anti-aircraft missiles.
The U.S. military has developed this kind of high-frequency radar before, in the 1980s-vintage Over The Horizon-Backscatter (OTH-B) radar, and the Navy's Relocatable Over-the-Horizon Radar (ROTHR) systems. Over-the-horizon radar bounces HF radio waves off the Ionosphere similar to shortwave radio.
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John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics