Erieye


The Erieye radar system is an Airborne Early Warning and Control System developed by Saab Electronic Defence Systems, formerly Ericsson Microwave Systems, of Sweden. It uses active electronically scanned array technology. The Erieye is used on a variety of aircraft platforms, such as the Saab 340 and Embraer R-99. It has recently been implemented on the Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft as the GlobalEye.
The Erieye Ground Interface Segment, EGIS, not to be confused with the Aegis combat system, is a major component of the software used by the Erieye system.
The radar provides 300 degree coverage and has an instrumental range of 450 km and detection range of 350 km in a dense hostile electronic warfare environment—in heavy radar clutter and at low target altitudes. The radar is capable of identifying friends or foes, and has a sea surveillance mode.
The Erieye system has full interoperability with NATO air defence command and control systems.

History

In 1985, Ericsson Microwave Systems were contracted by the Swedish Defence Material Administration to develop what would become the PS-890 Erieye AEW radar. In 1985, a dummy dual-sided phased array antenna was tested on a twin-engined Fairchild Metro aircraft. In 1987, the Metro aircraft was fitted with the radar system for flight trials. In 1993, production started on six radars for the Swedish Air Force, for fitting in Saab 340 aircraft. In 1996, the first two production radars were delivered. The name Erieye is short for Ericsson eye.

Operational history

Pakistan

On 16 August 2012, nine Tehrik-e-Taliban militants assaulted PAF Base Minhas at about 2 am. After a pitched battle all nine attackers were killed while two Pakistani security officials also died. The militants allegedly also destroyed one Saab 2000 Erieye plane and allegedly damaged one or two other aircraft.

Design

The Erieye AEW&C mission system radar is an active, phased-array, pulse-doppler sensor that can feed an onboard operator architecture or downlink data, via an associated datalink subsystem, to a ground-based air defence network. The system employs a large aperture, dual-sided antenna array housed in a dorsal 'plank' fairing. The antenna is fixed. The beam is electronically scanned, which provides for improved detection and significantly enhanced tracking performance, compared with radar-dome antenna systems.
Erieye detects and tracks air and sea targets out to the horizon, and sometimes beyond this due to anomalous propagation — instrumented range has been measured at. Typical detection range against fighter-sized targets is approximately, in a 150° broadside sector, both sides of the aircraft. Outside these sectors, performance is reduced in forward and aft directions.
Other system features include: adaptive waveform generation ; signal processing and target tracking; track while scan ; low side lobe values ; low- and medium-pulse repetition frequency operating modes; frequency agility; Air-to-air and sea surveillance modes; and target radar cross-section display.
The radar operates as a medium- to high-PRF pulse-Doppler, solid-state radar, in E/F-band, incorporating 192 two-way transmit/receive modules that combine to produce a pencil beam, steered as required within the operating 150° sector each side of the aircraft, one side at a time. It is understood that Erieye has some ability to detect aircraft in the 30° sectors fore and aft of the aircraft heading, but has no track capability in this sector.

Variants

Erieye

The Erieye mission system uses the PS-890 radar. The radar is of the AESA type, and the transceiver modules are made with GaAs semi-conductors.
The variants of the Erieye include:
  • The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner was used as the testbed of the Erieye system.
  • The Saab 340 AEW which exists in multiple sub-variants, and was introduced in 1997.
  • * The Saab 340B AEW is designated FSR 890, and was known as the S 100B Argus in the Swedish Air Force. It entered service in 1997. It was a simple radar aircraft transmitting data to the STRIL combat control and air surveillance system.
  • * The Saab 340B AEW&C-300 is designated ASC 890 and was known as the S 100D Argus in the Swedish Air Force. It is the result of a modernisation of 2 S100B of the Swedish Air Force for multi-national operations. This modernisation enables the Erieye system to become a command and control aircraft, and to become compatible with NATO aircraft. Those became equipped with 3 mission consoles.
  • The Embraer E-99 is used by several air forces, and is based on the Embraer ERJ 145 regional commercial jet.
  • The is based on the Saab 2000 turboprop regional aircraft. All the aircraft used were already used in civilian airlines, and repurposed as military aircraft.

    Erieye ER

The Erieye ER is the latest version of the radar and mission system. The radar is also of the AESA type, but the transceiver modules are made with GaN semi-conductors.
This radar system is used with:
  • The GlobalEye had its maiden flight in 2018, and was introduced in service in 2020. It is based on the Bombardier Global 6000 long-range business jet. It is designated as the S106 in the Swedish Air Force. On top of the Erieye ER, the GlobalEye is equipped with a FLIR Systems Star Safire 380HD, and a Leonardo Seaspray 7500E surface surveillance radar.
  • The Embraer E-99M had its maiden flight in 2019, and it is in service since 2020. The aircraft is the Embraer ERJ 145 regional commercial jet.

    Operators

Current operators

Saab 340 AEW

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Saab 2000 AEW

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Embraer E-99

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GlobalEye

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Former operators

Saab 340 AEW

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