Douglas Barrie/LONDON
Russian radar design house Phazotron is offering China an electronically scanned phased-array radar for the Chengdu F-10 fighter aircraft alongside the mechanically steered variant of the Zhuk, or N-010, already on offer for the project.
When Phazotron revealed its bid for the F-10 radar, it described its offering, called the Zhemchoug, as a derivative of the N-010 radar. The N-010 was developed as part of the MAPOMiG-29M Fulcrum upgrade programme, and failed to enter production for the Russian air force.
Phazotron is believed also to be proposing a radar similar to its RP-35 phased-array design as an alternative to the Zhuk variant to meet the F-10 requirement. The RP-35 is being offered for MAPO's proposed upgrades of the Fulcrum. Phazotron sources claim that a prototype RP-35 will be flown in 1998.
The design bureau is competing with Israel's Elta to provide the F-10 radar. The latter is offering the EL//M-2035 multi-mode pulse-Doppler radar, originally developed for the Israeli Lavi fighter, on which the F-10 is based.
The motives behind the Phazotron offer of a phased-array alternative to the Zhuk variant remain unclear - unless it is concerned that the Chinese air force is leaning towards the Israeli solution.
The Zhuk design forms the basis of two other Sino-Russian projects, the Zhuk-27 and the Zhuk-8. The former is being test-flown on a Sukhoi Su-27, part of Russia's Flanker sales programme for China, while the latter is being flown on the Shenyang F-8IIM, due to go into limited production in 1998.
The RP-35 differs from the Zhuk/Zhemchoug in having a greater track-while-scan capability. The RP-35 is claimed to be capable of tracking 24 targets, while the Zhuk can track ten. The RP-35 can engage four targets simultaneously, while the Zhuk can engage two to four targets.
Source: Flight International
