The KLJ-7A multi-mode X-band jamming-resistant Active Electronically Scan Array (AESA) radar developed by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology (NRIET) based in Jiangsu Sheng provice, China.
 KLJ-7A Mockup at Zhuhai air show 2016
 The KLJ-7A is the proposed AESA radar to be installed on the JF-17 Thunder Block III single engine fighter jet, which is operated by the Pakistan air force, says NRIET’s head Hu Mingchun in a China Daily report. A mockup of the KLJ-7A was displayed by NRIET at the Zhuhai air show 2016. Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology (NRIET) is also the designer and manufacturer of the radars of J-10, J-11B, J-15 and J-20 stealth fighter.
Russian radar design houses Phazotron and NIIP had worked closely in the past with the Chinese radar design bureaus and provided technical assistance as well as operational models of Russian-made radar sets that were used as benchmarks in the process of these Chinese firms developing their own design.
KLJ-7A Mockup at Zhuhai air show 2016
KLJ-7A Mockup at Zhuhai air show 2016
“Our product will tremendously extend the fighter jet’s detection range, giving it a much longer sight that will help it detect the enemy’s aircraft before they do, and this is very important because in real combat if you see first, you fire first,” says NRIET’s head Hu Mingchun.
The KLJ-7A AESA radars provide key defensibility gains against electronic warfare (EW) jamming and enemy radar detection. The AESA radars utilize many arrays – i.e. transmit and receive modules (TRM) – that can each transmit in a different frequency. In unison, these TRMs enable a single AESA radar unit to transmit in different frequencies simultaneously.
East Pendulum reported citing NRIET deputy director Wang Hongzhe that the KLJ-7A has a range of 170 km against aerial target with 5m² RCS (radar cross-section) or 3m² RCS targets. It can track 15 targets and engage four simultaneously. Though equipped with 1,000 TRMs, it is not known if the KLJ-7A’s TRMs are built from gallium arsenide (GaA) or gallium nitride (GaN).
The PAF’s JF-17s are equipped with the SD-10 beyond-visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile (AAM) and C-802 anti-ship missile (AShM). The KLJ-7A will provide guidance for the SD-10 BVR missile and C-802 Anti-ship missile at the pre-terminal phase to home into the target.
“The KLJ-7A that makes its first public appearance in this show has a combat range of 170 kilometers,” says WANG Hongzhe, “This range is equivalent to (that of the radar) F-35 , and it’s is mostly done on a radar with a much smaller volume in comparison.”
The KLJ-7A will therefore provide about 55% more detection distance in comparism to previously used mechanically scanned array radar. The radar also has at least 11 modes of operation including SAR imaging, Air-to-Ground and Air-Sea mode.
The radar combined three modules on the back of the radar – the power supply, the computer and the cooling cell.The antenna and the computer module are liquid cooled, as is marked on the housing.
The JF-17 is the mainstay fighter of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and is co-produced by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). Pakistan and China’s export firm CATIC have actively promoted the JF-17 Block III on the international market for years. Myanmar Air Force and Nigerian Air Force currently placed order for JF-17 Block II aircraft. The PAF is also hoping to eventually manufacture AESA radars domestically at PAC.
NRIET’s KLJ-7A Multi-Mode AESA Radar for JF-17 Block III The KLJ-7A multi-mode X-band jamming-resistant Active Electronically Scan Array (AESA) radar developed by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology (NRIET) based in Jiangsu Sheng provice, China.
