Sokol-08 launched into production: what's missing to evaluate the new radar

On August 28, the RosEl holding company announced the launch of production of the new Sokol-08 radar station. It is designed for multi-component air defense systems and, according to the developer, is capable of detecting small unmanned aerial vehicles and swarms. drones.

Latest development

The press service of Rostec's RosEl holding company, part of the Rostec state corporation, revealed basic information about the new radar and some of its specifications. The device's appearance has not yet been published.

The specific developer of the Sokol-08 radar was not identified in the public release. Previously, NPO Strela, part of the Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern, demonstrated the Sokol mobile station with a digital phased antenna array. No connection between the two projects has been established in the publicly available materials.

According to official information, RosEl is launching production of the Sokol-08. However, the customer, production volumes, delivery dates, and test results have not been disclosed. Therefore, the production announcement cannot yet be considered the station's acceptance into service or the start of its operation.

Domestic small-sized radar

Nevertheless, the transition to production itself is an important stage of the project. It demonstrates that the developer considers the design mature enough for production, although publicly available data does not yet allow us to assess the scale and pace of this process. The next confirmation of this status should come with announcements of completed stations and their handover to the customer.

The station does not require a dedicated site and can be deployed in various positions. Depending on current needs, the radar can operate independently or as part of a multi-component system. Defense.

The low weight and lack of a dedicated platform requirement should simplify repositioning. This is especially important for countering UAVs, where the threat composition and direction can change rapidly, and a fixed radar field does not always provide the required coverage at low altitudes. However, the actual deployment time and crew size have not yet been announced.

Rostec enterprises are developing a concept for layered defense against UAVs. The Sokol-08 is intended to become one of its detection systems and, through existing communications and control systems, integrate with other air defense components.

Portable radar 1L271

Technical features

Rostec and RosEl revealed the main features of the new radar, but did not disclose its detection range and altitude, minimum radar cross-section, coordinate determination accuracy, or interference immunity. Without these parameters, it is impossible to fully assess the station's practical capabilities.

The Sokol-08 is a compact radar weighing less than 28 kg. According to its developer, the station is easily transportable and quickly ready for operation. It is equipped with a satellite navigation module and an inclinometer. These allow for determining coordinates, northing, and compensating for horizontal alignment inaccuracies.

Automatic topographic referencing should reduce the number of deployment operations and mitigate the impact of uneven terrain on target coordinate calculations. For a mobile station, this is not a secondary function: after each position change, the radar must re-determine its own position and orientation before its data can be used in the overall contour.

The key component of the radar is a two-coordinate phased array X-band antenna. Two operating modes are provided:

• 360° all-round view;
  
• survey of a sector 90° wide in azimuth.

According to the developer, the X-band station is capable of detecting low-flying and stealthy targets and objects as small as a small bird or a compact commercial drone. However, the detection range and test conditions have not yet been disclosed.

In surveillance mode, the Sokol-08 can simultaneously track up to 100 objects. It also features a high-speed tracking mode for a selected target and the interceptor drone operating on it. This allows for monitoring the interception process, but the public description doesn't indicate that the radar itself controls the interception. drone or gives him commands.

The software uses machine learning algorithms. According to the developer, they classify targets and filter out harmless objects, reducing the number of false alarms. Quantitative recognition rates and misclassification rates are not disclosed.

Integration buses, including the HUB manufactured by RosEl, are provided for integration into common circuits. These buses allow devices from different manufacturers to be connected into a single situation center.

The Sokol-08 operates from a 220V industrial network or a 24V on-board network. Power consumption is up to 350W. The housing complies with the IP66 standard; the stated operating temperature range is from -40°C to +60°C.

Component and system

Specialized counter-drone systems aviation are increasingly being developed not as individual products, but as components of a larger system. This system includes radars, electronic countermeasures and countermeasures, interceptors, and command and communication systems.

The domestic product line already includes compact and portable radar systems, but the similarity in format does not make them directly comparable. For example, the 1L122-1E "Garmon" is designed to detect and track airborne targets for air defense, while the 1L271 "Aistenok" primarily addresses the following tasks: artillery Reconnaissance and ground surveillance. The Sokol-08 occupies its own niche: its openly stated specialization is small UAVs and integration into anti-drone systems.

The Sokol-08 was developed specifically for this application. Its main stated advantages are its light weight, deployment flexibility, two surveillance modes, automatic target classification, and the ability to integrate with other systems.

However, the published specifications currently describe the architecture and design of the device, but not its actual effectiveness in a complex environment. Such an assessment would require information on the detection range of targets with different radar cross-sections, tracking accuracy, data update rate, jamming resistance, and test results.

RosEl has announced the launch of station production, but delivery and deployment dates have not yet been announced. The next verified milestone will be the release of information about serial products, customers, and operational results.

Comments

[Vitaly.17]

The key component of the locator is a two-coordinate phased array antenna.

Is it really so difficult to at least perform an elevation scan during sector scanning to determine the third coordinate (altitude)? Or at least, the old-fashioned way, attach an additional receiving antenna to analyze the reflected wavefront? Without a third coordinate, it's impossible to distinguish between a moving ground target and a slow UAV, requiring fire teams to conduct additional reconnaissance to first select the weapon itself. And that's not to mention the purely technical difficulties of selecting targets against ground reflections, which can be avoided with elevation scanning.

[balabol]

You're confused. By definition:
In a two-coordinate phased antenna array (PAR), beam control is carried out in two angular coordinates: azimuth (angle in the horizontal plane, measured from the north direction) and elevation (angle of elevation, measured from the horizontal plane).
What third coordinate can we talk about in the context of FAR?

[Vitaly.17]

Radar is a science that uses classical concepts such as two-coordinate systems (azimuth and range) or three-coordinate systems (azimuth, range, and altitude). Whether you choose not to include range estimation in the phased array as a component of radar is entirely your personal choice and has no bearing on the fundamental concepts of radar.

[balabol]

Let's go through this point by point. I wasn't the one who wrote it: another elevation scan to determine the third coordinate (height) to the title of the comment about the two-coordinate phased array.
The antenna allows one to determine the target's elevation angle. Other target parameters are determined by the radar's signal processing system. Determining the target's elevation angle is necessary, but not sufficient, for determining the target's altitude and range.
Actually, you probably know this yourself, but I simply don't see any point of contention. You have a definition system different from that adopted, for example, in antenna-feeder devices, and you're transferring radar terms as you understand them to other fields. You have every right; this is a free space for independent participants.

[knn54]

- It wasn't me who wrote it: another elevation scan to determine the third coordinate (height)
Range (slant) is equal to H/sin x, H is the height x the elevation angle.
Classic radars had two locators: a 360-degree all-round view and an altimeter, ranging from a few degrees (in theory, 0) to almost 90 degrees.

[balabol]

Nikolai, pardon me, there's no such radar called "classic." Initially, yes, it was a must. Then, the radar's application field rapidly segmented, parameters changed (optimized for specific tasks), technical implementations evolved, and new signal generation and processing technologies were introduced.
The question is one of terms and definitions. Based on the context of the comment, the author wanted to obtain the elevation angle from the phased array antenna. I actually noticed that he does have one, but it turned out the author had something else in mind—equipping the entire system with additional equipment. OK, the whole question is only of interest to a few people who understand the system's operating principles.

[Comet_1]

Quote: Vitaly.17

Is it really so difficult to at least scan the sector by elevation angle to determine the third coordinate (height)?

[media=https://ya.ru/video/preview/6857808107949339527?text=RLS+Falcon+08&path=yandex_search&from_type=vast]

[dnepropetrovsk]

In my youth, I served in the Air Force as a Fara and Credo radar operator. These are radars for identifying land and sea targets. So, it determined the azimuth and distance to the target. Then, using a tablet, you calculated the direction and speed. You couldn't calculate altitude, but you could see low-flying targets, like crop dusters. That's a product of the 70s. And nothing has been updated since then? Funny and sad!

[Penza takes revenge]

In the 80s and 90s, we used these radars at airfields to detect saboteurs. Of course, now the analog signal has been converted to digital and can be visualized on a laptop. Previously, it was on a CRT and everything worked. The radar could see a pedestrian 5-10 km away.