I’m sure it’s classified. But I wanna know if our current “truck mounted radars” are even capable of resolving or identifying drones the size of say a football or smaller. Because if they can’t and can only identify and track “aircraft” that are larger as in the size of a car...they seem pretty much useless for much of the future threats. The “radar” in whatever type and capacity needs to be much smaller (man portable) and capable of “seeing” or “hearing” or “sensing with whatever technology” small drones. Those are what’s busting tanks… not attack helo’s or threats already widely addressed and under threat on the modern battlefield. The gap is the tiny and nimble and cheap drones.
That is why you have layers of Air defence with different purposes. IRIS-T SLM is medium range and mostly for aircraft and ballistic missiles, for smaller sized objects that presumably also have a shorter range (energy constraints) like drones, SHORAD options like Skyranger or Mantis are more appropriate. Their radars are capable of identifying and tracking smaller objects. MANTIS while stationary has a radar unit that can detect up to 0,01 m² RCS at a range of 20km for example. Skyranger wich would be the mobile version of a SHORAD system, so the one that would be actually protecting their maneuver warfare forces (like tanks and infantry), is capable of detecting small drones in a range of up to 5km.
@@hammurabii.3173 Detecting small drones up to 5km. That sounds good. How portable is that system? How complex? The solution that the infantryman are looking for is a man pack system. A man portable system that they can operate. If you have one “radar operator” with a “bubble” of 5 km. And there are hundreds of drones. You can’t get on the radio and inform anybody about anything. It’s worthless. The infantryman need their own “picture” of the battle space. Not coverage provided by someone else in a truck.
