The flight test preparations for the air-cooled Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, which will be mounted on Korea's multi-purpose fighter FA-50, are nearing completion. LIG Nex1 plans to install the radar on the test fighter as soon as the work is finished and start flight tests to collect various data. As countries introducing the FA-50 are looking to adopt the U.S. AESA radar 'Phantom Strike' instead of Korea's radar, attention is focused on whether this will be a turning point.
According to the defense industry on the 7th, LIG Nex1's AESA radar is set to be attached to a test aircraft at the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre and will begin flight tests in October for about two years. The plan is to enhance its capabilities by repeatedly checking air, ground, and maritime target detection, tracking, maximum detection range, and simultaneous operation. Until recently, LIG Nex1 has been conducting environmental tests for airworthiness certification, continuously improving the prototype first unveiled in July 2023.
The AESA radar is an advanced device that can detect and track multiple targets in the air, on the ground, and at sea, and engage them simultaneously. LIG Nex1's AESA radar is designed to be air-cooled, which is a method of cooling high-heat radar with air, advantageously eliminating the need for separate cooling equipment compared to conventional water cooling, thereby allowing for miniaturization. This makes it suitable for the small FA-50 airframe. Additionally, it can electronically control about 500 transceiver modules and detect a wider area than other radars.
LIG Nex1's AESA radar is being developed for deployment on the export FA-50. Currently, the FA-50 to be exported to Poland and Malaysia is expected to be equipped with the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon's AESA radar Phantom Strike. It has been reported that Raytheon began the test flights for Phantom Strike earlier last month. A military official noted, "Although the export FA-50 will be equipped with Phantom Strike according to the contract schedule, there is a possibility that a Korean radar could be installed in the future. The development speed is also sufficiently fast."
The industry believes that if the domestic production of the AESA radar succeeds, the constraints encountered during the export of the FA-50 will be resolved.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a contract to export 48 FA-50s to Poland in 2022, but the integration of U.S. equipment, including the American radar and mission computer, as requested by Poland, is taking a long time.
If a domestic AESA radar is installed, it will reduce constraints since U.S. export licenses will not be required for the radar. Additionally, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) will become smoother. Foreign radars are prohibited from being disassembled and reassembled, requiring personnel from the respective country to come to Korea.
An industry official said, "Repairing fighter jets that use foreign components requires bringing in all personnel and parts from overseas, making it at least four times more expensive than using domestic products."
If the AESA radar is successfully developed, the air force's combat capability is expected to improve. The FA-50 uses a model that has been in service for over 20 years. While the export FA-50 has been upgraded to meet the demands of various countries, the FA-50 operated by the military is equipped with an Israeli-made mechanical radar instead of an electronic one.
As exports of the FA-50 are increasing, LIG Nex1 is expected to promote the aircraft, emphasizing its ease of repair. The FA-50 is a modified model of the T-50, an advanced trainer co-developed by KAI and the U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin. As of now, over 140 units have been exported to six countries, including the Philippines and Indonesia, with the Philippines recently acquiring 12 additional units on the 3rd.