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GaAs gives Apache performance boost
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GaAs gives Apache performance boost The mast-mounted f/re confrol radar (FCR) of the McDonnell Douglas (MDC) AH-64D Longbow Apacho will represent the first/arge-scale military use of ram-wave components and promises substantial business for GaAs component and subsystem suppliers, TRW and Lockheed Martin / Westinghouse, respectively. In addition, the FCR will contro/the upgraded Hellfire II (AGM.11410 anti.armour missile, the main armament of the Apache, also built by Lockheed Martin. This is an autonomous fire.and-forget missile which has a seeker which uses the same Ka-band TRW power amplifier modules as the FCR. No less than 16 of which can be carried, double that of the AH-64A, see photo.
The McDonnellDouglasAH-64D LongbowApache showingthe mast-mountedmmwaveFCR- fire controlradar.
Close up of the mast-mountedFCR.
0961-1290/96/$15.00 ©1996 Elsevier Science Ltd. Page 26
The Apache will be familiar to TFR readers from the movie '%Vings of the Apache" but more likely from its distinguished service in the Gulf War. It is not generally known that US Army Apaches led the Desert Storm air attack sneaking up in darkness and silencing Iraqi forward ground radars to allow following strike aircraft to approach undetected. Lessons learned have been incorporated in the Longbow making the Apache an even more formidable attack helicopter. The FCR is the first time such a radar system has b e e n integrated into an attack helicopter and the US Army is very pleased with its performance. It has already shown improved attack capability but initial tests have shown that the system will confer m u c h more capability - it could b e c o m e a "mini-AWACS" (airborne warning and control system). Field tests have shown enhanced survivability of the D-version and the FCR system enabled more than four times as many targets to be destroyed. Of course, other mmwave systems are being considered but this is the first large-scale w e a p o n system to fully utili.ge its special advantages. However, in late 1995 a mmwave system equipped version of the Russian Apache-equivalent, the Vol 9 No 1
[
I
and then retire to consider an attack Kamov KA-95 Werewolf, was shown plan e i t h e r alone or w i t h o t h e r in the East for the first time at the aircraft. Presently, a 16 kbit/s digital Dubai Air Show. This helicopter's databurst combines radar informamast-mounted system is Spherical tion and secure voice radio sharing rather than donut-shaped. F r o m a u t i l i t y v i e w p o i n t , a w i ~ i ~ ! i ~ e team. In due course it is ex#~d that real-time video imammwave-based unit as opposed to be possible. As if this w e r e microwave radar, enables the avio- g e ~ ~ n ~ ,:~pressive enough, the data is nics housing to be small and light to and fro~,i~other aircraft enough to be fitted on a relatively ~ i i ~ t s @ ~ ~ the E-8:~JSTARS airborne small vehicle such as the Apache. However, the ability to see in adverse @and po~: ~ :~ ~:~ w e a t h e r conditions gives it a huge iiii~ t h e r avio~c i m p f o v e m e n ~ : ~ advantage over its enemies. Unlike IR, :i~'i~he Longbow Apacl~e low-light and other optical systems, i ~ g e r co!our m u l t i - ~ ' d i s p l a y s the mmwave FCR can see in smoke, ;iii~MFDs) ± A M L C D $ : ~ Allied Signal fog and, o f course, in d a r k n ~ , This Aerospace ~:-- :::~: b o t h cockpits to also applies t o the Hellfire active ::~~: replace t J a e ~ i ~ e r m o n o CRTs. Other seeker too. Not only can th~ii~a~he new d~6pments are the 32-bit see the bad guys, it can also kill them pr~es~d flight management without being seen, : :~iii~Sti~; ~ ¢ ~ b e d d e d GPS and INS; a • The mmwave radar is housed in a~i ~ n g ] ~ # o and an upgrade of the donut-shaped unit atop the:Apace'S: nOS~-~oufi~d passive night vision rotors and weighs some:: 136 kg.:iiA : s e n s ~ r i i i ~ m ~rhich incorporates special basel~[a~Liiis •used to isolate : : ) ~ ~ ! i ~ n g using ~:~an environthe.,~::~:i:~i!!~:::::~'ihe rotor h u b ~ d i m e ~ ( - ~ e n d l y form o f freon known ~:~:::~bration and the ~ g i !asR~A. , ~ess pass .............................................. ~ s earlier que tube" ir ~ers have system inclu, file compaand several and a Loral e on order airborne eh 9tos in this sures systeJ ~y Westland, radars. Thi~, *on the UK engineering of Longbow it would hay krmy. Other emplace a s ade Sweden, such a hosti] ds as well as T h e FCR the Far East. locates, clas: awarded a and ground DC to cover sweep. Beca e first batch mast-mountc ie Longbow m o u n t e d set version. It is e x p e c t e d that deliveries helicopter can remain hidden. Morewill begin in March next year and over, thanks to a digital databus and MDC• hopes that no less than 232 secure target handover capability, it Longbows will be remanufactured can pass o n the i n f o r m a t i o n to another Apache etc. or launch its over a 5-year period. o w n attack. The Hellfire II can be For the basic Apache, the company estimates that some 1600 sales are in launched directly or according to a prospect but it remains to be seen set of FCR-derived map reference just h o w m u c h of the AH-64D elecand then acquire and actively h o m e tronics will be included. Nevertheo n t o its target as it approaches. less, the sales o f t h e m m - w a v e Meanwhile, the Apache can either exit the area for a new fire position equipped will probably be in the h u n d r e d s and t h e Hellfire II in or make other attacks. The initial tests also proved the thousands, making a usefully large sized business for the e l e c t r o n i c system's ability to coordinate team attacks w h e r e b y each Apache in a components suppliers. Industry observers will no doubt speculate as to group is assigned fields of fire to prevent missile wastage. The Apache possible alternative carriers of the can scan an area in under a minute mm-wave FCR - Hellfire II system,
~"ilew
,.°.271mml,o,,1
land-based, naval, as well as airborne, and the necessary countermeasure system c o m p o n e n t s n e e d e d to detect and thwart the Apache's mmwave radar. With the widespread debut of the Longbow system w e can thus anticipate an even larger value market. In conclusion, you can see that the Longbow Apache is a classic example o f the way advanced III-V-based e l e c t r o n i c c o m p o n e n t s are transforming the capability of w e a p o n systems. The p e r f o r m a n c e of the Co.As-based mmwave system is such that the AH-64 D-version has been described not as an evolutionary but as a "revolutionary" step by the US Army.
Harris All-silicon WLAN Chipset Harris Semiconductor has begun to "remove the technical barriers to 2.4 GHz, DSSS wireless [AN growth with a 4-chip chipset" an all-silicon solution in volume production in January. For datarates up to 4 Mbps, using simple PCMCIA (and ISA) network adaptor cards, the PRISM chipset is the "first fully-defined solution for rapid implmentation of low-cost DSSS radios for WLANs". It obviates the need for RF and digital expertise and dramatically reduces c o m p o n e n t count, Harris says. It w i l l a l o w c o s t - e f e c t i v e PCMCIA WLAN adaptor cards to be built for u n d e r $300. T h e c h e a p n e s s comes, Harris says, from implementation solely with silicon ICs on a PCMCIA card. O t h e r available solutions for DSSS use costlier GaAs ICs for RF functions. This requirment, along with the high n u m b e r of components from separate vendors, are the chief reasons w h y DSS transc e i v e r s are t y p i c a l l y p r i c e d at $600. The chipset comprises a "tightly-matched" quartet of ICs. The RF silicon parts are manufactured using the Harris "2.42.5 GHz UHF-1 b o n d e d wafer, bipolar CMOS technology".
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GaAs gives Apache performance boost The mast-mounted f/re confrol radar (FCR) of the McDonnell Douglas (MDC) AH-64D Longbow Apacho will represent the first/arge-scale military use of ram-wave components and promises substantial business for GaAs component and subsystem suppliers, TRW and Lockheed Martin / Westinghouse, respectively. In addition, the FCR will contro/the upgraded Hellfire II (AGM.11410 anti.armour missile, the main armament of the Apache, also built by Lockheed Martin. This is an autonomous fire.and-forget missile which has a seeker which uses the same Ka-band TRW power amplifier modules as the FCR. No less than 16 of which can be carried, double that of the AH-64A, see photo.
The McDonnellDouglasAH-64D LongbowApache showingthe mast-mountedmmwaveFCR- fire controlradar.
Close up of the mast-mountedFCR.
0961-1290/96/$15.00 ©1996 Elsevier Science Ltd. Page 26
The Apache will be familiar to TFR readers from the movie '%Vings of the Apache" but more likely from its distinguished service in the Gulf War. It is not generally known that US Army Apaches led the Desert Storm air attack sneaking up in darkness and silencing Iraqi forward ground radars to allow following strike aircraft to approach undetected. Lessons learned have been incorporated in the Longbow making the Apache an even more formidable attack helicopter. The FCR is the first time such a radar system has b e e n integrated into an attack helicopter and the US Army is very pleased with its performance. It has already shown improved attack capability but initial tests have shown that the system will confer m u c h more capability - it could b e c o m e a "mini-AWACS" (airborne warning and control system). Field tests have shown enhanced survivability of the D-version and the FCR system enabled more than four times as many targets to be destroyed. Of course, other mmwave systems are being considered but this is the first large-scale w e a p o n system to fully utili.ge its special advantages. However, in late 1995 a mmwave system equipped version of the Russian Apache-equivalent, the Vol 9 No 1
[
I
and then retire to consider an attack Kamov KA-95 Werewolf, was shown plan e i t h e r alone or w i t h o t h e r in the East for the first time at the aircraft. Presently, a 16 kbit/s digital Dubai Air Show. This helicopter's databurst combines radar informamast-mounted system is Spherical tion and secure voice radio sharing rather than donut-shaped. F r o m a u t i l i t y v i e w p o i n t , a w i ~ i ~ ! i ~ e team. In due course it is ex#~d that real-time video imammwave-based unit as opposed to be possible. As if this w e r e microwave radar, enables the avio- g e ~ ~ n ~ ,:~pressive enough, the data is nics housing to be small and light to and fro~,i~other aircraft enough to be fitted on a relatively ~ i i ~ t s @ ~ ~ the E-8:~JSTARS airborne small vehicle such as the Apache. However, the ability to see in adverse @and po~: ~ :~ ~:~ w e a t h e r conditions gives it a huge iiii~ t h e r avio~c i m p f o v e m e n ~ : ~ advantage over its enemies. Unlike IR, :i~'i~he Longbow Apacl~e low-light and other optical systems, i ~ g e r co!our m u l t i - ~ ' d i s p l a y s the mmwave FCR can see in smoke, ;iii~MFDs) ± A M L C D $ : ~ Allied Signal fog and, o f course, in d a r k n ~ , This Aerospace ~:-- :::~: b o t h cockpits to also applies t o the Hellfire active ::~~: replace t J a e ~ i ~ e r m o n o CRTs. Other seeker too. Not only can th~ii~a~he new d~6pments are the 32-bit see the bad guys, it can also kill them pr~es~d flight management without being seen, : :~iii~Sti~; ~ ¢ ~ b e d d e d GPS and INS; a • The mmwave radar is housed in a~i ~ n g ] ~ # o and an upgrade of the donut-shaped unit atop the:Apace'S: nOS~-~oufi~d passive night vision rotors and weighs some:: 136 kg.:iiA : s e n s ~ r i i i ~ m ~rhich incorporates special basel~[a~Liiis •used to isolate : : ) ~ ~ ! i ~ n g using ~:~an environthe.,~::~:i:~i!!~:::::~'ihe rotor h u b ~ d i m e ~ ( - ~ e n d l y form o f freon known ~:~:::~bration and the ~ g i !asR~A. , ~ess pass .............................................. ~ s earlier que tube" ir ~ers have system inclu, file compaand several and a Loral e on order airborne eh 9tos in this sures systeJ ~y Westland, radars. Thi~, *on the UK engineering of Longbow it would hay krmy. Other emplace a s ade Sweden, such a hosti] ds as well as T h e FCR the Far East. locates, clas: awarded a and ground DC to cover sweep. Beca e first batch mast-mountc ie Longbow m o u n t e d set version. It is e x p e c t e d that deliveries helicopter can remain hidden. Morewill begin in March next year and over, thanks to a digital databus and MDC• hopes that no less than 232 secure target handover capability, it Longbows will be remanufactured can pass o n the i n f o r m a t i o n to another Apache etc. or launch its over a 5-year period. o w n attack. The Hellfire II can be For the basic Apache, the company estimates that some 1600 sales are in launched directly or according to a prospect but it remains to be seen set of FCR-derived map reference just h o w m u c h of the AH-64D elecand then acquire and actively h o m e tronics will be included. Nevertheo n t o its target as it approaches. less, the sales o f t h e m m - w a v e Meanwhile, the Apache can either exit the area for a new fire position equipped will probably be in the h u n d r e d s and t h e Hellfire II in or make other attacks. The initial tests also proved the thousands, making a usefully large sized business for the e l e c t r o n i c system's ability to coordinate team attacks w h e r e b y each Apache in a components suppliers. Industry observers will no doubt speculate as to group is assigned fields of fire to prevent missile wastage. The Apache possible alternative carriers of the can scan an area in under a minute mm-wave FCR - Hellfire II system,
~"ilew
,.°.271mml,o,,1
land-based, naval, as well as airborne, and the necessary countermeasure system c o m p o n e n t s n e e d e d to detect and thwart the Apache's mmwave radar. With the widespread debut of the Longbow system w e can thus anticipate an even larger value market. In conclusion, you can see that the Longbow Apache is a classic example o f the way advanced III-V-based e l e c t r o n i c c o m p o n e n t s are transforming the capability of w e a p o n systems. The p e r f o r m a n c e of the Co.As-based mmwave system is such that the AH-64 D-version has been described not as an evolutionary but as a "revolutionary" step by the US Army.
Harris All-silicon WLAN Chipset Harris Semiconductor has begun to "remove the technical barriers to 2.4 GHz, DSSS wireless [AN growth with a 4-chip chipset" an all-silicon solution in volume production in January. For datarates up to 4 Mbps, using simple PCMCIA (and ISA) network adaptor cards, the PRISM chipset is the "first fully-defined solution for rapid implmentation of low-cost DSSS radios for WLANs". It obviates the need for RF and digital expertise and dramatically reduces c o m p o n e n t count, Harris says. It w i l l a l o w c o s t - e f e c t i v e PCMCIA WLAN adaptor cards to be built for u n d e r $300. T h e c h e a p n e s s comes, Harris says, from implementation solely with silicon ICs on a PCMCIA card. O t h e r available solutions for DSSS use costlier GaAs ICs for RF functions. This requirment, along with the high n u m b e r of components from separate vendors, are the chief reasons w h y DSS transc e i v e r s are t y p i c a l l y p r i c e d at $600. The chipset comprises a "tightly-matched" quartet of ICs. The RF silicon parts are manufactured using the Harris "2.42.5 GHz UHF-1 b o n d e d wafer, bipolar CMOS technology".