20200311 P-8 Poseidon Tail 168996 Kadena AB-10

The AN/APS-154 Advanced Airborne Sensor (AAS) is a multifunction

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

installed on the

P-8 Poseidon The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is an American maritime patrol aircraft, maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. It was developed for the United States Navy as a derivative of the civilian ...

maritime patrol aircraft. The radar is built by

Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...

as a follow-on to their AN/APS-149 Littoral Surveillance Radar System (LSRS). The AAS has its roots in the highly classified AN/APS-149 LSRS, which was designed to provide multi-function moving target detection and tracking and high resolution ground mapping at standoff ranges covering land,

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

, and water areas. The radar was deployed on a small number of P-3C Orions, with "game changing" results. Containing a double-sided

AESA radar An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled antenna array in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the ant ...

with near 360-degree coverage, it could scan, map, track, and classify targets, and do all of these tasks near simultaneously; it was reportedly sensitive enough to pick up a formation of people moving over open terrain. Building upon the LSRS, the AAS also has a double-sided AESA radar, which contains a

moving target indicator Moving target indication (MTI) is a mode of operation of a radar to discriminate a target against the clutter. It describes a variety of techniques used for finding moving objects, like an aircraft, and filter out unmoving ones, like hills or tree ...

(MTI) that can detect, classify, and track targets on land and at sea at the same time, with

synthetic aperture radar Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or 3D reconstruction, three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target regi ...

(SAR) and

inverse synthetic aperture radar Inverse synthetic-aperture radar (ISAR) is a radar technique using radar imaging to generate a two-dimensional high resolution image of a target. It is analogous to conventional SAR, except that ISAR technology uses the movement of the target rat ...

(ISAR) for picture-like radar imagery of both inland and ocean areas at the same time; these can profile vessels from a long distance and generate fine resolution without relying on optical sensors, especially in day or night and in adverse weather conditions. Once it detects and classifies a hostile vessel, the P-8 can send targeting information to another armed platform and guide a networked weapon (e.g. Tomahawk cruise missiles,

SLAM-ER The AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response) is an advanced Standoff missile, stand off Precision-guided munition, precision-guided, air-launched cruise missile produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security for the United ...

JASSM The AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (AGM-158 JASSM) is a low detection standoff air-launched cruise missile developed by Lockheed Martin for the United States Armed Forces. It is a large, stealthy long-range weapon with a armor ...

, LRASM, SDB II) to it through a

data link A data link is a means of telecommunications link, connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a t ...

. The AAS is in ways superior to the AN/APY-7 used on the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

E-8 Joint STARS The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) airborne ground surveillance, battle management and command and control aircraft. It tracked ground vehicles and ...

, looking both port and starboard rather than just being side-looking. The AAS may be able to track submerged submarines by the faint tracks of their wakes on the surface of the oceans.

References

Aircraft radars Military radars of the United States Equipment of the United States Navy Synthetic aperture radar Military electronics of the United States {{Component-aircraft-stub

See also

References