Efficacy Analysis of In-Situ Calibration of Airborne AESA

Airborne radars deployed for early warning systems have very stringent requirements in terms of low peak and average side lobe levels for effective clutter management. Calibration of Active electronically scanned array is periodically performed to keep the Radar performance intact. This paper discusses the methodology to support in-situ calibration by the inclusion of Directional Coupler in the Transmit Receive Module along with normal path of operation. Calibration algorithm followed in an airborne AESA is explained in this paper. The effectiveness of the methodology is demonstrated through radiation pattern measurements in Planar Near Field Measurement facility.