A. E. Chalykh

JSC “V. Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Design” (Zhukovsky, Russia)

In 1960s the engineers of JSC “V. Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Design” designed an airborne phased antenna array. It was the first antenna of this type in the world. The Chief Designer of the device Boris Sapsovich had to solve a complex task to achieve this goal.

The author of the article traces back the antenna array design timeline. He demonstrates the ways the ferrite phase shifters Regia– Spencer type were redesigned to be applied as a part of an airborne antenna array. There were the following solutions proposed and realized: minimization of the device cross-section dimensions, bandwidth widening, incorporation of magnetic memory units, speeding-up of the device, reducing of mutual magnetic influence of shifters in a group. All these changes resulted in a phase shifter with minimal loses (less than 0,6 dB), continuous phase response and hop time less than 100 ms.

Initially a beam steering was based on a frequency shift of a control generator. The emission frequency did not change with any change of the beam position. This method is known as frequency steering. Faithful realization of antenna aperture phase distribution has been described when the frequency shifters are applied under frequency and temperature range attack. The scheme of automatic phase control with double frequency change has been also introduced. It allowed providing required accuracy of the antenna operation.

The array antenna production model was equipped with a very effective power distribution system. The operation effectiveness of it tended to 70% and the antenna array surface utilization factor was more than 0,5. This antenna array modification became a part of a weapon control system “Zaslon” of MiG-31 (also known as “Foxhound”), for over decade the only fighter in the world equipped with airborne electronic scanning.

Chalykh A.E. Scientist, teacher, creator (to the history of creation of the world's first phased antenna array for a fighter). Antennas. 2021. № 4. P. 7–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18127/j03209601-202104-02 (in Russian)

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