All known is that it matches or exceeds the specs of the air cooled option.
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And there is a detailed analysis of a prototype test from a French source, back in 2016-17. Mind you this is a prototype and production variant still not out so expect improvements. Also something interesting is that one of the reasons for delay in JF-17B3 is PAF claims it has in house radar development work going. Which means the base KLJ-7A would be customized by Pakistan and there could be some involvement of Italian Tech.
Ran it through google translate. Original site is in French
http://www.eastpendulum.com/klj-7a-1er-radar-embarque-aesa-chinois-dedie-a-lexport-est-en-vol
After its first public appearance at the Zhuhai Air Show last year, the
KLJ-7A , China's first active electronic scanning radar (AESA) entirely dedicated to export, has disappeared from the radar screens. Its manufacturer, the
Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology (NRIET), better known as Institute 14 of the CETC group, also remained very discreet on the subject.
And it is in
a TV report of the Chinese channel CCTV-2 , broadcast this Monday, November 20, that we learn that this radar candidate for Standard Block III of the Sino-Pakistani fighter
JF-17 has in fact already entered its flight test phase.
The journalists had the opportunity to attend one of the tests that took place on November 14, when the KLJ-7A, installed on a test bench flying
Y-7 , was tested on its ability to detect multiple fast moving targets over 100 km, stability of the follow-up, as well as the simulation of arms fire. Two
J-7 fighters assigned to the
China Flight Test Establishment (CFTE) also participated in the test to serve as a target.
The fact that these tests now take place at the CFTE also means that the Chinese on-board radar is on the final stretch before its final validation.
The two J-7s serving as targets in the KLJ-7A radar test (Image; CCTV-2)
Flying Test Bench, Registered 712, for KLJ-7A Radar Flight Test (Image; CCTV-2)
KLJ-7A Radar Test Screen (Image; CCTV-2)
The AESA KLJ-7A radar installed under the CFTE Y-7 radome (Image; CCTV-2)
KLJ-7A radar exhibited at Zhuhai Air Show 2016
Except for the details already mentioned last year in our file "
Airshow China 2016: KLJ-7A, radar at AESA ", namely that it is an AESA radar with more than 1000 transmitters and receivers ( T / R), with at least 11 operating modes and a range of 170 km for targets of 5 m² SER, and able to track 15 different targets and engage 4 simultaneously, we finally could see what the KLJ-7A antennas face, which had been protected and therefore hidden during its exhibition in Zhuhai in November 2016.
Despite the quality of the images in the television report, it is assumed that the antennas are "Notch" type installed in a brick architecture, unlike the "patch" or "slot" type that has already been seen on some PESA embedded radars and Chinese AESA. This shape generates a greater beam width and also a better gain.
Although it is not T-R modules installed in 3D tile as is the case for the AESA radar
J-20 hunter, but for a product dedicated to export must know how to adapt to the market and to its customers.
We also learn that the radar can be adapted to most on-board cooling systems, whether it is a system cooled in air or in liquid. This will reduce the cost of replacement on existing devices by preserving some components already installed on board.
Competitor of the KLJ-7A, the Italian AESA radar VIXEN 1000E
It is still unclear whether the KLJ-7A will be chosen by the Pakistan Air Force to equip the JF-17 Block III currently under development at the 611 Chengdu Institute in China, but it will face a significant competitor in its category which is the
VIXEN 1000E , designated by the Italian
Selex ES for the Swedish hunter
Saab Gripen NG / E.
We should therefore relive another Sino-Italian competition as was the case between the
Grifo S-7 mechanical radar and the Chinese equivalent
KLJ-7 V2 at the time for the JF-17 Block I.
To be continued.
Henri K.
