Latest Stealth Aircraft Tracking Radar Displayed at Airshow China 2024

A new ground-based radar system prototype, reportedly capable of tracking stealth fighter jets like the F-35 and F-22, has been displayed at the ongoing Airshow China 2024 in Zhuhai.

Designed to detect aerodynamic targets with a small image intensifier (IoI) and airframes made with radar-absorbing composite materials, the radar aims to track advanced stealth fighters like the F-35A/B/C and A-22A, which have IoIs as low as 0.07 to 0.1 square meters.

The radar, described by Chinese experts on Telegram as an advanced prototype of an interference-resistant active electronically scanned array (AESA) system, operates in the decimeter L-band (1 to 2 GHz) for long-range detection. It reportedly has between 5,000 and 7,000 receiving and transmitting modules, each containing individual microwave transistors and attenuators. The radar’s pulse power reaches 700 to 800 kW, while it consumes approximately 110 to 130 kW in survey mode.

With an IoI of 0.1 sq. meters, comparable to the F-35A, the radar is expected to detect targets at ranges up to 200 km. For larger aircraft, such as the F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet" carrier-based fighter with an IoI of 1 to 1.3 sq. meters, detection ranges could extend to 370 to 400 km at altitudes over 12,000 meters and about 300 km at 5,000 meters.