Radar and Electronic Warfare Cooperation: How to Improve the System Efficiency

Up to now, combat aircrafts are fitted with Fire Control Radar (FCR), Electronic Warfare Systems (EWS), and some radio links. Each of these systems is dedicated to a particular task and cooperation is reduced to a minimal exchange of information between them, so far. Major system performance enhancements are to be expected from close cooperation to other sensors. The future cooperations can be ordered in four stages: the first three stages lead progressively to a multi-function sensor. The last is the deployment, on a given platform, of compact multi-function sensors on a network basis. Another area of cooperation is the realization of RF functions currently provided by other devices using other antennas. A typical example is the implementation of data links using radar or the EWS.