NEWTOWN, Conn. - China is claiming that its new anti-stealth radars are capable of detecting the U.S.'s stealthy F-22 jet fighter. The two anti-stealth radars, the CETC JY-27A 3-D, long-range surveillance/guidance radar and JY-26 Skywatcher-U (developed by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology, NRIET), were shown at this month's Zhuhai Air Show. Both are active phased array radar systems, with multiple panels of AESAs that are rectified into a single image.
The JY-27A operates in the VHF band, but the JY-26 operates in a broader bandwidth, incorporating both UHF and VHF signals. Both radars also have a stated maximum range of 310 miles (500 km), while the JY-26 is reported to be able to track up to 500 targets at once.
The reporting on China's engineering success was recently followed by a seemingly related story, emerging from Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. In the story U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Samuel Privett of the 43rd Aircraft Maintenance Unit claimed that a recent issue affecting the F-22's radar detectability had been solved. Privett identified a maintenance issue affecting the in-flight weapons system as the culprit. The issue had the effect of significantly increasing the F-22's radar cross-section and therefore detectability.
The timing of the U.S. Air Force's in-flight weapons system story is curious. However, the deficiency in the in-flight weapons system could be a likely reason for China's unprecedented success in detecting the F-22. The Air Force claims that its solution to the radar cross-section issue cost only around $250. An estimate for replacing the entire affected system was also provided, costing approximately $40,000 to $50,000 to remedy each unit. If the $250 fix actually causes the F-22 to return to undetectability then the actual value is more realistically in the tens of millions of dollars, if not potentially reaching a value of over $100 million.
The U.S. hopes that its in-flight weapons system fix has ameliorated the F-22's radar cross-section conundrum. However, even if the F-22 has become undetectable once again, the two radars announced in Zhuhai mark a major step forward in China's radar engineering and should be noted by industry followers.
