DRDO Advances 4D-capable Virupaksha AESA Radar

India’s Defence Analysis and Improvement Organisation (DRDO) showcased its new Virupaksha radar at Aero India 2025, marking a major development in radar know-how for the Indian Air Pressure’s Su-30MKI improve program. This radar is an Lively Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) system designed to interchange the older Russian-made N011 Bars radar at the moment in use.

The radar can concurrently detect and measure four-dimensional parameters of targets, together with vary, azimuth, elevation, and relative velocity. This functionality is essential for contemporary aerial fight eventualities.

Virupaksha operates in varied modes—air-to-air, shut fight, air-to-ground, air-to-sea, and navigation—permitting it to adapt to completely different mission necessities concurrently.

The radar includes a 950 mm diameter antenna geared up with roughly 2,400 Gallium Nitride (GaN) transmit/obtain modules.

This design enhances decision and situational consciousness whereas offering excessive output energy and improved sign reception.

Whereas particular operational frequencies and vary specs haven’t been disclosed, it’s anticipated that the radar will obtain detection ranges of 300-400 km for fighter-sized targets.

Built-in with superior digital counter-countermeasures (ECCM), the Virupaksha radar is designed to function successfully in advanced digital warfare environments.

The design structure of the Virupaksha radar has been finalized, and DRDO officers are at the moment within the strategy of creating subsystems. Floor testing is anticipated to start quickly, adopted by in-flight trials. Nonetheless, DRDO has not but chosen a manufacturing accomplice for this radar system however expects important demand for its manufacturing and sustainment.

The introduction of the Virupaksha radar is a part of a broader modernization effort for the Indian Air Pressure’s fleet of 84 Su-30MKI plane. This improve goals to increase the operational lifespan of those plane by 25 years and improve their fight capabilities considerably in trendy warfare eventualities.

Janes