MiG-29A SPO-15 does not detect any radar signal at left/right hemisphere

[NineLine]

Hey all, some feedback from the team:

 

The detection of emitters abeam of the aircraft: the answer is it cannot do this very well. The 90 degree light doesn't correspond to exactly 90 degrees off nose, this "sector" will change both in size and location depending on power and frequency of the threat emitter. So it cannot be relied upon for precise notching. And because it relies on simultaneous reception by both the rear hemisphere and 50/70 degree antennas, both significantly off-boresight, the reception in that area is significantly weaker. They do not even overlap at 50% beamwidth like forward hemisphere channels, but actually further out. So if the signal is too weak, the 90 degree lights might not trigger at all, and the threat might just jump between 50 degrees and rear hemisphere.

This is accurate with multiple sources on this.

[okopanja]

8 minutes ago, NineLine said:

Hey all, some feedback from the team:

 

The detection of emitters abeam of the aircraft: the answer is it cannot do this very well. The 90 degree light doesn't correspond to exactly 90 degrees off nose, this "sector" will change both in size and location depending on power and frequency of the threat emitter. So it cannot be relied upon for precise notching. And because it relies on simultaneous reception by both the rear hemisphere and 50/70 degree antennas, both significantly off-boresight, the reception in that area is significantly weaker. They do not even overlap at 50% beamwidth like forward hemisphere channels, but actually further out. So if the signal is too weak, the 90 degree lights might not trigger at all, and the threat might just jump between 50 degrees and rear hemisphere.

This is accurate with multiple sources on this.

Does this mean antenna sectors 1 and 8 are not exactly at 70 degrees but further back?

[AeriaGloria]

Su-27SK manual says it happens at 85-95 degrees, I assume this is for high frequency pulse Doppler fighter radars as those are more precise for SPO