The KLJ-7, also referred to as the Type 1478, is an

X band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is set at approximately 7.0–11.2&nbs ...

airborne fire-control radar (FCR) developed by Nanjing Research Institute of Electronic Technology (NRIET), also known as the China Electronics Technology Company's (CETC's) No. 14 Research Institute. In December 2010,

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Rao Qamar Suleman Rao Qamar Suleman () was the 12th Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force. The four-star ranked general commanded the PAF from 2009 to 2012. Earlier, Suleman served as Deputy Chief of Air Staff of Operations. He was succeeded by Air Chie ...

announced that KLJ-7 radar will be built at

Pakistan Aeronautical Complex The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) is a major defense contractor and an aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Kamra, Punjab, Pakistan. The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex is one of the largest defense contractors in aerospace and milit ...

(PAC), in Kamra, north of

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

Development and design

The KLJ-7 uses a mechanically steered

planar array An antenna array (or array antenna) is a set of multiple connected antennas which work together as a single antenna, to transmit or receive radio waves. The individual antennas (called ''elements'') are usually connected to a single receiver ...

antenna and bears similarities with the various Russian radars imported in the 1990s. Russian radar design houses Phazotron and NIIP had worked closely in the past with the Chinese radar design bureaus and provided technical assistance as well as operational models of Russian-made radar sets that were used as benchmarks in the process of these Chinese firms developing their own design. Up to 20 units of the Phazotron Zhemchoug ('Pearl) radar were imported in the mid-1990s for evaluation along with 2 units of Phazotron (NIIR) RP-35, The KLJ-7V1 has multiple modes, both

beyond visual range A beyond-visual-range missile (BVR missile) or beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) is an air-to-air missile that is capable of engaging at ranges around or beyond. This range has been achieved using dual pulse rocket motors or ...

(BVR) and close-in air-to-air modes, ground surveillance modes and anti-jamming capability. The radar can reportedly manage up to 40 targets, monitor up to 10 of them in

track-while-scan Track-while-scan (TWS) is a mode of radar operation in which the radar allocates part of its power to tracking a target or targets (up to forty with modern radar) while part of its power is allocated to scanning. It is similar to but functions diff ...

(TWS) mode and simultaneously fire on two BVR targets. The detection range for targets with a

radar cross-section Radar cross-section (RCS), denoted σ, also called radar signature, is a measure of how detectable an object is by radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected. An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy b ...

of 3 square meters is stated to be ≥75 km (≥35 km in look-down mode). Surface sea targets can be detected at up to 135 km. Most modern Chinese air-launched weapons, such as the short-range PL-9C and the beyond-visual-range PL-12 (SD-10) air-to-air missiles are supported by the KLJ-7. It has been reported that KLJ-7 also has modes to support a range of NATO weaponry. According to a

programme officer, after having "flown with this radar" as well as "other models... such as the Thales RC400" and evaluating them for the

JF-17 The CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder (), or FC-1 ''Xiaolong'' (), is a fourth-generation, lightweight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China. ...

lightweight fighter, the Chinese radar is "every bit as capable as its contemporary analogues." A more powerful model, called the KLJ-7V2, has been produced.

Radar modes

Data from: Janes Defence *Range While Search (RWS) *Velocity Search (VS) *Single Target Track (STT) *

Track While Scan Track-while-scan (TWS) is a mode of radar operation in which the radar allocates part of its power to tracking a target or targets (up to forty with modern radar) while part of its power is allocated to scanning. It is similar to but functions diff ...

(TWS) *Dual Target Track (DTT) *Situational Awareness Mode (SAM) *Air Combat Mode (ACM)(with five sub-modes) *Real Beam Map (RBM) *Doppler Beam Sharpening (DBS) *Ground

Moving Target Indication 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 ...

/Ground Moving Target Track (GMTI/GMTT) *Air to Ground Ranging (AGR) *

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) *Sea Single Target Track (SSTT) *Beacon (BCN)

Specifications

Data from: JF-17 official website *Frequency:

*Range: **Look-up: >105 km (for RCS of 5m²) (V1) or 200 km (for RCS of 5 m²) (V2), **Look-down: >85 km (for RCS of 5m²) (V1) or V2 *Total targets tracked: 10 in TWS (Track-While-Scan) mode (V1) *Reliability: **MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure): 220 hours **MTTR (Mean Time To Recovery): 0.5 hours *Weight: ≤120 kg *Volume: 0.065 m³

References

{{reflist

External links

China's NRIET outlines fighter radar improvements
Aircraft radars Military radars of the People's Republic of China Aviation in China Military equipment introduced in the 2000s

Development and design

Radar modes

Specifications

See also

References

External links