RC-135E radar(863?)

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CIC-TAO

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I wish to ask if anyone knows more about the RC-135E radar.

I saw on a reddit post that mention radar power of the RC-135E is as high as 7 MW. Is this true? I couldn't find the source; I only saw a image in the post.
7 MW is already higher than the 6 MW power of the SPY-1 radar.

Radar's name appears to be "863". This also doesn't seem to match naming conventions.
 
CIC-TAO said:
7 MW is already higher than the 6 MW power of the SPY-1 radar.
Click to expand...
Those will be peak transmitted power figures. RIVET AMBER will likely have had quite a high power demand and low pulse frequency to get the range needed for its mission, bringing mean power down to a more reasonable range.

Something like SPY-1 will have a higher pulse frequency to manage engagements, and has high power partly for range but also to defeat countermeasures. That will likely mean it has much higher mean power than RIVET AMBER.
CIC-TAO said:
Radar's name appears to be "863". This also doesn't seem to match naming conventions.
Click to expand...
Project 863 may well have been an internal system at Hughes, or one specific to the BIG TEAM program. Given that there was only one operational radar, fully integrated into the RC-135E aircraft, undertaking somewhat secretive missions, it isn't surprising that it didn't get an AN/Axx type designation.
 
Yellow Palace said:
Those will be peak transmitted power figures. RIVET AMBER will likely have had quite a high power demand and low pulse frequency to get the range needed for its mission, bringing mean power down to a more reasonable range.

Something like SPY-1 will have a higher pulse frequency to manage engagements, and has high power partly for range but also to defeat countermeasures. That will likely mean it has much higher mean power than RIVET AMBER.

Project 863 may well have been an internal system at Hughes, or one specific to the BIG TEAM program. Given that there was only one operational radar, fully integrated into the RC-135E aircraft, undertaking somewhat secretive missions, it isn't surprising that it didn't get an AN/Axx type designation.
Click to expand...
Trident shared "An Empirical View" from a Hughes Engineer, indicating an average power as high as 90 kW, significantly exceeding that of the non-D(V) variants.
 

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