Aselsan Develops AESA Radar for Manned, Unmanned Aircraft

Turkey’s Aselsan has created a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for both manned and unmanned aircraft platforms.

Developed as part of OZGUR project that aims to modernize Turkey’s F-16 Block 30 fleet, the new radar will be retrofitted onto Akinci UAV and future Turkish Fighter Experimental manned aircraft.

Ismail Demir, president of Defense Industries (SSB), tweeted that the Aselsan radar will first be integrated onto “Akinci drone, then F-16s and finally onto the MMU (TF-X).”

Aselsan’s Murad AESA radar uses the latest Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology. This multifunctional radar is capable of simultaneous air-to-air, air-to-ground, air-to-sea missions and has electronic attack capabilities.

Turkey owns 270 F-16C/Ds, but the OZGUR modernization will only cover 35 Block 30 aircraft. These jets will receive Turkish-designed smart munitions of both air-to-air and air-to-surface types.

The upgrade includes extending the F-16’s flight hours from 8,000 hours to 12,000 hours — and avionics modernization. The modernization includes a new mission computer, a system interface unit, new cockpit color displays, hydraulic fuel gauge, engine display screen, new national identification friend/foe system, new radar warning receivers, and an inertial navigation system.