Forum: General F-22A Raptor forum

tacf-x wrote:

I'd imagine the radar in the AMRAAM's nose is guided by control laws such that it orients itself in the correct direction pre-programmed into the inertial autopilot so that there is no longer a need for the active radar head to scan volumes of space to obtain a lock. It just turns on and the target is there in front of it...or its not if the AMRAAM isn't updated on the bandit's vector appropriately when on its midcourse. Is this correct?

Yes, The AMRAAM is fired into a 'basket' which can be updated via datalink. Once it determines it's reached the effective range of it's on board radar, then it goes active. This is what makes it so effective on a stealth platform with a LPI AESA radar. There's nothing to indicate a missile was fired (other than the flash of the motor which is what some missile launch detectors look for) until the missile goes active. And if the proper tactics are allowed to unfold, that warning will come from the 6 o clock position seconds before impact.

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Another thing to keep in mind about "detecting the F-22's radar" is that we do not know what mode the radar was in. Was it full LPI, max range (no LPI), etc?

SpudmanWP wrote:

Another thing to keep in mind about "detecting the F-22's radar" is that we do not know what mode the radar was in. Was it full LPI, max range (no LPI), etc?

We also don't know how long it took to detect it, or whether they had the advantage of being familiar with the F-22 systems.

Radio arrays, like the VLA, use correlators to determine the angle to the signals they are observing. The VLA was often limited by the power of it's correlator.
The correlator power behind AESA must be immense.

Forum: General F-22A Raptor forum

Question about the Raptor's radar