Radar system plays a very important role in the aviation. Last week, Ukraine’s state-owned defense conglomerate Ukroboronprom State Concern unveiled the new MR-1 radar system, which, according to a Ukrainian official, can detect stealth aircraft better than other radar.
Radar can be used as a defensive tool. In the Battle of Britain, when the Royal Air Force defended the British Isles against the German Luftwaffe, radar provided crucial early warning information. The United Kingdom could see enemy bombers as they approached, and then gather fighters to intercept and shoot them down.
On the other hand, stealth technology is a way to thwart radar. There are two key components of stealth: paint that reflects radar poorly, and a body shape that deflects radar beams away from their origin. So, for a country currently staring down a hostile invader, stealth-detecting radar is a great advantage. And therefore, Ukraine has is trying to make a new radar system called MR-1 that will be able to detect stealth aircraft better than other radar.
Ukrainian Defense Industry (also known as Ukroboronprom), which is a state-owned conglomerate in Ukraine and is considered the in charge of the military–industrial complex in the country has said, “MR-1 has the number of significant advantages against the foreign radar systems of meter range. In particular, MR-1 has a short build up time (up to 5 min). … The MR-1 Radar System allows making an assessment of the altitude of the target location.”
It is to be noted here that Ukrainian anti-stealth radar systems work by sending out both ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio waves and very high frequency (VHF) radio waves. But stealth technologies are designed in such a way that UHF waves can’t see them. And if a radar using both waves detects something only on VHF and not on UHF, it acts as a stealth aircraft.
At present, the MR-1 radar system is half made. Ukraine is looking for funding to test the MR-1 radar systems in 2015. Now it is to be seen, how well the radar systems performs when it’ll be completely finished.
Source: Ukroboronprom State Concern
Thanks To: PopSci
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