Family of airborne radars
TheGrifo radar is a family of airborne radars developed by Italian firmLeonardo S.p.A. forfighter aircraft andattack aircraft, and this family of radars includes several series.
Grifo radars trace their origin back to the Pointer series radar, which are ranging-only radars consisting of two models:
- Pointer radar: An Italian license produced IsraeliElta EL/M-2001Bpulse Doppler ranging radar[1][2] with air-to-air and air-to-ground ranging capability.[3] Pointer radar was installed on all production aircraft ofAMX International AMX for the Italian and Brazilian Air Force.[4][2]
- Pointer 2500 radar: Development of pointer radar with air-to-sea ranging capability added and equippedQ-5M andJ-7E.[5]
Grifo-ASV (anti-surface vessel) and Grifo-X radars are the first series multifunctional fire control radars of Grifo family, and consists of threeline-replaceable units: transmitter, receiver/processor, and antenna.[3]
- Grifo-ASV: also known as Griffetto P2801, is the first multifunctional fire control radar of Grifo family, and until the appearance ofGrifo-7, also the smallest multifunctional fire control radar. Grifo-ASV was evaluated on a AMX-T test airframe and proposed as an upgrade,[6] but was never acquired. The maximum range to detect a frigate sized target withradar cross-section (RCA) of a thousand square meter is 55 nm in air-to-sea mode, and the maximum range against a fighter sized target is 20 nm in air-to-air mode.[3]
- Grifo-X: Grifo-X P2803 radar for AMX proposed upgrade is a larger-sized development of earlier Grifo-ASV and shares the system connectors with the Grifo-ASV.[3] Unlike its predecessor Grifo-ASV which is amonopulse radar, Grifo-X is a pulse-Doppler radar with the same multi-modal flexibility as the Grifo-ASV, but with better look-up range and a limited look- down capability.[3]
Grifo-7 series is the smallest multifunctional fire control radar of Grifo family, and this series is designed forJ-7/F-7 orMiG-21 upgrades, with over a hundred sold.
- Grifo-7: Weighing 55 kg, Grifo-7 mono-pulse radar is developed from the experience of P2801 Grifo-ASV/Griffetto, and is designed to be fitted into the nose cone of J-7/F-7/MiG-21. The only confirmed customer is Pakistan, with the radar license assembled by theISO - 9002 certifiedKamra Avionics, Electronics and Radar Factory of thePakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), to arm F-7MP and early production series of F-7P fighters ofPakistani Air Force (PAF). With a range of 30 nm, the radar is compatible withIR-guidedair-to-air missiles, free-fall bombs, rockets and guns.[3]
- Grifo-Mk-II: Improvement of Grifo-7 radar in the same way Grio-ASV was developed to Grifo-X, Grifo-Mk-II is a pulse-Doppler radar upgrade of Grifo-7 monopulse radar. With weight only increased by 1 kg to 56 kg, Grifo-Mk-II has better look-down/shoot-down and ECCM capabilities than its predecessor, and it’s capable of simultaneously tracking four targets and engage one of the four tracked. The sector of scan is increased from ± 10° of Grifo-7 to ± 20°. Also license assembled by Kamra factory of PAC, Grifo-Mk-II is used by PAF for its later production series F-7P fighters, and F-7MP and early production series F-7P fighters upgrades.[7]
- Grifo-MG: Further development of Grifo-Mk-II with the sector of scan is increased from ± 20° of Grifo-Mk-II to ± 30°, and improved look-down/shoot-down and ECCM capabilities.[5] The number of targets can be simultaneously tracked is increased from 4 of the Grifo-Mk-II to 8,[5] and the radar can engage one of the eight targets tracked. Grifo-MG is adopted for PAFF-7PGs andBangladesh Air Force F-7 upgrades.[5]
- Grifo-L: this radar is designed to be fitted into the nose ofAero L-159 Alca, 24 of which are used byDraken International for aggressor training for theU.S. Department of Defense.[8] In comparison to earlier Grifo-Mk-II, Grifo-L has the additional compatibility with IR or TV guidedair-to-surface missiles (ASM) such asAGM-65 Maverick, andprecision guided bombs (PGB) such asGBU-12 Paveway II.[3] In November 2019, Leonardo S.p.A. signed a multi-year contract with Draken International to support the Grifo-L radars on L-159E used by the latter.[8]
The 85 kgGrifo-F P2804 radar is designed to fit into the nose ofNorthrop F-5, and in comparison to earlier Grifo-L, Grifo-F is larger and has the additional compatibility withactive radar guided air-to-air missiles.[3] Grifo-F shares the same components of slightly larger Grifo-M3 radar, with the exception of its own elliptical antenna, which is unique to the space confinement of F-5. Grifo-F has been installed onSingaporean Air Force F-5s andBrazilian Air Force F-5s.[9][10][11]
Grifo M P2800 series radars are larger and more powerful radars than Grifo-X, and like Grifo-F, Grifo-M also uses multi-processors for fire control, but incorporated additional compatibility withanti-ship missiles (AShM), and also has greater look-down range and better look-down capability by adoptingfast Fourier transform (FFT) Doppler-filtering techniques.[3] It also differs from Grifo-F in having circular antenna array. Grifo-M series includes 2 models:
- Grifo-M3: This 87 kg radar is designed forDassault Mirage III upgrade with over sixty-five sold to Pakistan for PAF Mirage-IIIs upgrade underProject ROSE, including the complete radar sets at the beginning of the program and kits for local assemblies in the latter stage of the program.[12]
- Grifo-M5: As a daytime fighter version of Mirage III,Dassault Mirage 5 lacks radar and the avionics rack behind the cockpit is relocated into the nose, with the space left behind is filled with a 470 liter fuel tank, resulting in Mirage 5 has greater range and slimmer nose than Mirage III.[13] Grifo-M5 is designed to be fitted into the smaller nose of Mirage 5 for its upgrade market, but despite the smaller size of Grifo-M5, the avionics rack must be relocated somewhere else on the airframe of Mirage 5 to clear the room for Grifo-M5 installation, thus requiring more extensive work in comparison to earlier Grifo radars that only require simple installation/replacement, and this is a job for aircraft manufacturing and maintenance firms. As a radar house, Leonardo S.p.A. did not have the capability for airframe upgrade at the time, compounded with aging airframe of Mirage 5,[14] despite successful flight tests, no known sale has been achieved.
Grifo-S is a series of large radars the Grifo family designed for medium and heavy fighters, but most of them failed to enter series production. As with earlier Grifo series in the family, models in this series also share the same components except the antenna, and due to the different sizes of antenna, the maximum range of each model also various somewhat. In comparison to earlier series, Grifo-S has the additional compatibility withsemi-active radar homing air-to-air missiles,[3] andSAR mode.[15]
- Grifo-S1: designed forDassault Mirage F1 &MiG-23, no known sales achieved.[16]
- Grifo-S5: As an upgrade of earlier Mirage 5,Mirage 50 has a more powerful engine and longer nose to house the X-band Agave radar.[13] Grifo-S5 is designed to be fitted into the more spacious nose of Mirage 50 for its upgrade market. As with earlier Grifo-M5, more extensive work is needed to relocate the avionics rack to clear the space for Grifo-S5 installation on Mirage 50, and for the same reason,[14] no known sales were achieved despite successful flight tests as Venezuela, one of the only two foreign users of Mirage 50, retired its aging Mirage 50 fleet, and Chile, selected IsraeliEL/M-2032 for upgrade.[17]
- Grifo-S7: The only model in the Grifo-S series entered series production, with eight units delivered to China and Pakistan for prototypes and pre-production seriesJF-17, but is also reported available for installation onGuizhou JL-9.[18]
The general performance of Grifo S series is:[15]
- Weight: < 120 kg
- Power: 560 W
- Cooling: air
- Scan: ± 60°
- MTBF: > 220 hrs
- Detection range: > 50 nm in air-to-air mode
- Tracking range: > 40 nm
- Target tracking: 10 targets simultaneously tracked, 8 of the 10 displayed
- SAR resolution: better than 1 meter
Grifo-2000/16 is a pin-to-pin replacement of theAPG-66 radar[15] and has similar performance such as maximum range of 150 km. The radar has an elliptical antenna of 74 cm x 48 cm, and the radar is fully interchangeable with APG-66 at LRU level.[3] Grifo-2000/16 was offered to Pakistan if Pakistan decided to purchaseChengdu J-10, which did not materialize, and the radar thus did not enter series production.
Grifo-346 is a radar designed forAlenia Aermacchi M-346 Master. In comparison to earlier radars, Grifo-346 incorporates SAR andISAR modes.[19] Specification:[20]
- Weight: < 100 kg
- Power: 200 W
- Cooling: air
- Scan: ± 60°
- MTBF: > 220 hrs
- Detection range: > 60 nm in air-to-air mode
- Tracking range: > 50 nm
- Target tracking: 10 targets simultaneously tracked, 8 of the 10 displayed
Grifo-E is a series of radars utilizingAESA.[19] Models in this series only differs in antenna size, and thus with different ranges. Grifo-E is reportedly under consideration by Pakistan in 2020 for itsJF-17 Block III fighter.[21] Specification:[22]
- Weight: 106 – 160 kg
- Power: 200 W
- Cooling: air or liquid
- Scan: > ± 60°
- Detection range: 45 – 85 nm in air-to-air mode
- Tracking range: 40 – 75 nm
- Target tracking: 24 targets simultaneously tracked
Bangladesh Air Force (32)
Brazilian Air Force (49)
Czech Republic (70)
Namibian Air Force (8)
Nigerian Air Force (24 on order)
Pakistan Air Force (192)
Singapore Air Force (40)
Turkmen Air Force (4)
