Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
This material has been cleared for public release in accordance with DOD regulations.
Air-To-Air Capability
In the air-to-air role, the APG-66 provides all aspect, all altitude coverage in the following modes of operation. Downlook for search and track below or above the horizon. Four Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM) modes for automatic target acquisition in various dogfight engagements. Uplook for search above the horizon. Modes are selected by the pilot on the throttle. side stick controller, and radar control panel, or the aircraft's fire control computer can automatically select a radar mode appropriate to the tactical situation. Auto-acquisition in ACM is manually selected by a single switch on the throttle grip which immediately configures the entire weapon system for a dogfight engagement. In search, the pilot can switch ranges with the cursor control or with the range scale switch. In track, range scale switching is performed automatically. The pilot's desire for constant head - up visual search is thereby preserved to the maximum extent possible. For most air-to-air scenarios, use of the medium PRF Downlook waveform is tactically preferred. Range resolution and accuracy are excellent and insensitivity to target maneuvers guarantees a genuine all aspect capability with consistent tracking performance.
Downlook
Downlook, the primary mode in air-to-air operation, is a medium PRF pulse doppler search and track mode which provides target detection and acquisition even in the presence of clutter. All airborne targets, including those flying close to the ground, are presented on a clutter free display. Principal design features include a very low false alarm rate of less than two per minute and head-on or tail-on detection of fighter size targets at more than 30 nautical miles.
Track Display
Search Display
Range Scale Mode Target Altitude 4,000 Feet MSL Horizon Line Target Symbol (Track) Target Data Block Target's Ground Track Target's CAS Aspect Angle for Intercept Closure Rate
Dogfight
For the close - in fight, the pilot need only depress the "DOGFIGHT" switch on the throttle. As he continues to press the attack, all his efforts can be directed to maneuvering his aircraft since this single head-up action automatically reconfigures the fire control system. In this mode, the radar will scan the 20 x 20 HUD field of view and automatically lock on to the first target it detects within 10 nautical miles. When the engagement involves a high-G maneuver in which the target is ahead in the turn, 10 x 40 ACM is available. Once ACM has been entered depressing the RETURN TO SEARCH switch on the side stick controller extends the antenna's vertical scan coverage to allow target acquisition.
Dogfight 20 x 20" Dogfight 10 x 40
Uplook
Uplook is a low-PRF search mode that increases the radar's detection range capability by 33% in a medium or high altitude clutter free environment.
Uplook
Boresight ACM
Slewable ACM
Boresight ACM
The pencil beam pattern of Boresight ACM is particularly useful in acquiring a specific target within a target cluster. To enter Boresight from any other ACM mode, the pilot depresses the Designate button on the side stick controller. He can move his aircraft nose through the formation to the desired target and then release the Designator button. The narrow beam will automatically acquire and track the intended aircraft.
Slewable ACM
Entered from any ACM mode by depressing the Cursor Control Button on the throttle grip, this mode offers the pilot a significant tactical advan tage when either making a stern conversion or maneuvering in the vertical plane. In an example, two cospeed aircraft are approaching head on with 1600 knots of closure. If both aircraft pull up into the vertical with 8 sustained g's as they pass, then both can generate turn rates in excess of 10 degrees per second. Given equal HUD fields of view, the slewable ACM mode gives the pilot a lock-on opportunity at 40 degrees prior to being within the aggressor's field of view. This affords the pilot as much as four seconds of critical advantage.
Air-To-Surface Capability
When the mission demands precision navigation and accurate weapons delivery, radar ground modes provide an added dimension for success. The total integration of aircraft, radar, and fire control computer consistently demonstrates outstanding results during air-to-surface bombing. The pilot has available seven air-to-surface modes of radar operation. Air-to-Ground Ranging Real Beam Ground Map Expanded Real Beam Map Doppler Beam Sharpening Beacon Sea Surface Search Freeze
Lake
Dam
Ground Track
SAM Site
Dam
Bridge
OAP is Any Point with Known Bearing and Range from Target
Lake
Ground Track
Beacon
The pilot can select a beacon mode which provides both accurate navigation fix taking and offset weapon delivery relative to a ground beacon, or rendezvous with aerial tankers through interrogation of airborne beacons. The coded beacon reply is displayed in PPI format.
10
Beacon
Freeze
Freeze
The freeze mode provides quasi-quiet operation for strike mission navigation in both expanded and unexpanded GM, DBS, BCN, and SEA modes. When the Freeze button on the control panel is depressed, the antenna makes one more scan. The radar map produced during this scan is displayed until the Freeze button is depressed again. During the frozen period, the transmitter is off and no tell-tale radar radiation emanates from the aircraft. Aircraft motion, however, continues to be displayed by movement of an aircraft symbol over the map.
11
Antenna
The planar array antenna, gimballed in two axes, provides high gain and low sidelobes over all scan angles. Its balanced electric drive system is lightweight, highly reliable and easily maintained.
Low Power RF
Digibus
All radar functions including self-test are controlled by the radar computer via a serial digital data bus called Digibus. Digibus is similar to the F-16 aircraft avionics multiplex bus and interfaces with it through the radar computer. Separate high-speed data buses transfer radar data between the low power RF and the digital signal processor, as well as between the radar computer and the digital signal processor. Standard RS170 video output is provided to the display which can be video recorded for training and mission assessment purposes.
Low Power RF
The low-power radio frequency unit contains a receiver protector, low-noise Field Effect Transistor (FET) amplifier, receiver, analog / digital converters, stable local oscillator (STALO), and the system clock generator. All needed analog processing of the radar return signal is performed in this LRU. The LPRF also provides frequency agility for certain air-to-surface modes.
Transmitter
The transmitter contains an air-cooled traveling wave-tube (TWT), a solid-state grid pulser, high voltage power supplies and regulators, and protection and control circuitry. The entire transmitter is solid state, except for the final TWT output tube. The pilot may select among four of the 16 available APG-66 operating frequencies in any given F-16 aircraft.
Control Panel
The radar control panel in the cockpit is used by the pilot to command the desired radar channel mode, range scale, scan width, and elevation bar scan. The avionics system can, under many conditions, assume control of the radar functions.
Transmitter
I Control Panel
Computer
Computer
The radar computer configures the radar system for the various operating modes, directs the digital signal processor to embed symbols in the video output, makes calculations, routes data to the fire control computer, interfaces with other F-16 avionic systems as well as other radar LRU's and controls all of the self-test and builtin-test functions of the radar. Growth provisions have also been made in the F-16 Radar for addition of the missile illuminator required for the Sparrow (AIM-7) missile. The computer is equipped with 48,000 16-bit words of programmable, semiconductor read-only memory. Temporary scratch pad memory requirements are met using volatile, semi-conductor random access memory. Significantly ample memory reserve exists for introduction of new features and modes.
14
Reliability By Design
The APG-66 Radar is designed to be ready when needed. Reliability has been designed into the radar from the start and its functionally modular architecture eases maintainability. To achieve high reliability, the APG-66 emphasizes design simplicity. No rate gyros, hydraulics, or roll gimbal. One polarization, one rotary joint and a single channel receiver. Parts count reduced to only 9500 through the use of digital architecture.
Demonstrated Maintainability
The APG-66 is partitioned into functional autonomous modules integrated by a digital data bus. This modular architecture and continuous selftest greatly ease system maintainability.
In the cockpit
Continuous self-test provides the pilot with a 97% confidence level that no malfunctions exist. If a malfunction is detected, the pilot or mainten ance personnel can initiate a built-in test routine that will isolate 97% of the faults to a particular LRU.
15
Radar Reliability Hill AFB (Based on Westinghouse Field Data) Two Year History
Partners In Production
The APG-66 Radar, like the F-16 aircraft, is being manufactured as part of a multinational coproduction program. Electronics firms from four European countries who have purchased the F-16 manufacture four of the LRUs in the radar system. Belgium produces the radar computer, Denmark the control panel, Norwaythe equipment rack, and the Netherlands the planar array antenna assembly. The four European subassemblies undergo checkout and are integrated with the remaining Westinghouse-produced equipment needed to complete the radar system. The completed system is then shipped for aircraft installation.
Proven In Production
Over 800 APG-66 radars were delivered in the first three years of production, often at rates exceeding 35 systems per month. At Westinghouse, progressive assembly lines are used on various critical APG-66 assemblies to minimize assembly error. This results in increased productivity and higher levels of quality. Automatic and semi-automatic test equipment reduce the standard equipment test time substantially. Thorough testing of each LRU assures that every system that goes into the field meets the overall quality, reliability and performance requirements of the system.
16
APG-66 subassemblies nearing completion. Once completed, subassemblies are then assembled into finished radar LRU's and readied for final testing
In the APG-66 Final Test Area, each system LRU, like the antenna shown, undergoes testing at a full range of temperature extremes to simulate actual aircraft flight conditions.