New radars and an arctic shootdown
New radars and an arctic shootdown
A next gen radar that could counter stealth and a Lighting gets a kill over the arctic
“Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.”
– Socrates
On the Radar
Today’s edition of On the Radar is about: radar. Hensoldt of Germany has just introduced a new version of its Twinvis passive radar system. This innovative system identifies and analyzes reflections from ambient third-party signals, enabling it to track airborne objects up to 150 miles away. The updated model is not only deployable but also fully automated, necessitating only two individuals for installation.
Why is this important? Termed as low-signature anti-stealth radars, they are compact and do not radiate radar energy. These radars exploit reflections from VHF/UHF signals, such as TV and FM radio broadcasts, to locate and monitor airborne entities. This counters the core principle behind stealth aircraft, which assumes that the radar transmitter and receiver are co-located. While the current range is only 150 miles, it likely won’t take long to increase that range, and could make certain aspects of stealth aircraft obsolete. Stay tuned as more information is released in the near future.
More videos on the way be sure to check the channel!
This week in aviation history
On the morning of14 August 1942 over Iceland, a Royal Air Force Northrop N-3PB Nomad of No. 330 Squadron tracked a tracked a German Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 200 C-4 Condor flying near an allied convoy just south of the island. The C-4 Condor was a four-engine maritime reconnaissance bomber, which then proceeded northward overflying the peninsula West of Reykjavik. The bomber was initially attacked by a P-40 Warhawk which had been assigned air defense of the island. Although damaged from the attack, the bomber continued to fly.
At about 11:15 AM, two P-38 Lightnings from the 27th fighter squadron of the 1st Fighter Group under the VII Fighter Command were sent to follow up on the attack. The Condor was hit near the bomb bay which caused the aircraft to explode and go into the sea. The action marked the first US Army Air Force (USAAF) air combat victory in the European theatre in World War II.
In case you missed it
Since we were talking about radar systems earlier, here is a video about the F-35’s new radar:
Photo Outlet
Here is a CAF AT-6 taxiing. I always enjoy when I can get a capture of the pilot interacting with the crowd:
Parting Shots
Sunday’s live stream did not go as planned; I had some audio issues that I will resolve before next week’s live stream. I plan on doing these livestreams each week on Sunday at 7PM Central US Time, it’s a fun way for me to do some sim flying and hopefully have some good conversations with you. Tune in if you can make it!
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading! If you know a fellow aviation enthusiast that would enjoy these weekly newsletters, then please forward this along. Now you know!
-Tog