According to a June 2006 Raytheon fact sheet, it had produced over 175,000 X-band T/R modules for missile defense radars, passing through three design iterations, and these modules were used in the Ground Based Radar – Prototype (GBR-P), the Sea-Based X-band (SBX), and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) radars. The Raytheon Company T/R modules used in these radars are based on gallium arsenide monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology, which combine functions such as amplification, phase shifting, attenuation, and phase shifting on a single chip, and at least three different versions, with differing powers, have been used in its X-band missile defense radars. This gives peak and average powers of about 410 kW and 81 kW based on 25,344 modules. Figures on the powers of the third generation modules used in the AN/TPY-2 radars do not appear to be publicly available, but the available information suggests they are likely to be about 16 watts peak and 3.2 watts average power. This gives peak and average powers for the SBX of 450 kW and 91 kW, based on 45,254 modules. The second generation modules used in the SBX appear to have a peak power of about 10 w and an average power of about 2.0 watts. Since the GBR-P has 16,896 of these modules, its peak and average powers would be about 100 kW and 20 kW respectively. Here it is concluded that the first generation modules used in the GBR-P have a peak power of about 6 watts and an average power of about 1.2 watts. For each type of radar, the peak power for each radar will be given by the peak power of the transmit/receive modules times the number of modules, and the average power of the radar is then just its peak power times the maximum duty cycle (the fraction of the time the modules is transmitting). They all use the same basic T/R modules, although as discussed here, at least three different generations of modules with differing power outputs are used. However, these plans were cancelled in 2010 when the Obama Administration announced its new European Phased Adaptive Approach missile defense program, and the GBR-P remains in a non-operational status at Kwajalein.Īll these radars have active array antennas comprised of large numbers of transmit/receive (T/R) modules that both produce and receive microwave energy. Bush Administration, the Missile Defense Agency had planned to move to the GBR-P to central Europe and rename it the European Mid-Course Radar (EMR). missile defense test range on Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Other members of this radar family include the never-built very-large Ground-Based Radar (GBR) proposed for the Clinton Administrational National Missile Defense system and the Prototype Ground Based Radar (GBR-P) built at the U.S. Ground-Based Midcourse (GMD) national missile defense system. A second radar in this family is the single Sea-Based X-band (SBX) radar, currently deployed in the northern Pacific and used for missile defense testing and as part of the U.S. The most important of these radars are the AN/TPY-2 radars, which are employed both as Forward-Based X-band (FBX) radars in the BMDS and as the radars for THAAD theater missile defense batteries. Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) is a “family” of long-range phased-array X-Band radars manufactured by the Raytheon Company. In particular, it argues that the average power outputs of the modules are 6, 10 and 16 watts for the GBR-P, SBX, and TPY-2 radars respectivelyĪn essential part of the U.S. This post discusses and assesses these power outputs for the TPY-2 and other X-band missile defense radars (SBX, GBR-P). However, one can estimate these based on the peak and average powers of transmit/receive modules making up their antennas. There do not appear to be any public official numbers for the peak or average powers of these radars. In order to estimate the capabilities of missile defense radars such as the AN/TPY-2s used both as Forward Based X-Band (FBX) radars and THAAD theater missile defense battery radars it is necessary to assess the power output of the radars. X-Band Radar Transmit/Receive (T/R) Modules
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