Graugrun
ACCESS: Top Secret
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Very little has been released regards our own airborne radar project/s (for fighters). Project Meccano is the only mentioned one to my knowledge, the below being the most information to date that I have seen on it. It would seem to relate to project Carver (the SAAF fighter aircraft project).
Below extract from a paper presented on CSIR by Jakkie Cilliers in 1996:
"A contract for the development of the Meccano radar was place with Aerotek and the sub system technologies have been developed. Development of the full three channel monopulse tracking radar is currently underway, and a project to develop a one dimensional active phased-array antenna for integration with the Mecanno radar has begun in (mid) 1995."
Also attached below is a picture from an Avitronics brochure (now SAAB Avitronics - perhaps better known for their airborne and other EW equipment).
It shows what looks like a Elta ELM-2032 radar antenna/array (with one small difference). Why would they produce this though? It would be way too expensive to do this just for spare parts purposes for the Cheetah C fighter (if it is indeed the 2032 antenna/array). Is this perhaps an indication that there was some sort of co-development and or manufacturing on the 2032 with the Israelis - did we perhaps design the 2032 antenna?
Or is this part of project Mecanno - someone out there must be able to answer some of the above and more....
Below extract from a paper presented on CSIR by Jakkie Cilliers in 1996:
"A contract for the development of the Meccano radar was place with Aerotek and the sub system technologies have been developed. Development of the full three channel monopulse tracking radar is currently underway, and a project to develop a one dimensional active phased-array antenna for integration with the Mecanno radar has begun in (mid) 1995."
Also attached below is a picture from an Avitronics brochure (now SAAB Avitronics - perhaps better known for their airborne and other EW equipment).
It shows what looks like a Elta ELM-2032 radar antenna/array (with one small difference). Why would they produce this though? It would be way too expensive to do this just for spare parts purposes for the Cheetah C fighter (if it is indeed the 2032 antenna/array). Is this perhaps an indication that there was some sort of co-development and or manufacturing on the 2032 with the Israelis - did we perhaps design the 2032 antenna?
Or is this part of project Mecanno - someone out there must be able to answer some of the above and more....