On March 18, donezk militia units fighting in coordination with Russian forces released photos confirming that they had successfully captured a U.S.-aided Ukrainian AN/TPQ-48 anti-mortar radar during a battle near Malinka. This radar is small in size and advanced in performance, can quickly locate the enemy's mortar position, convenient for their own artillery to counterattack, so it has been called an anti-mortar artifact by the outside world. According to local media reports, the radar will be handed over to the Russian army for research and exhibition as a trophy after the war.
Pictured: Antenna part of captured AN/TPQ-48 radar demonstrated by the Donetsk militia
Pictured: U.S. military's AN/TPQ-48 anti-mortar radar
Compared with the common anti-artillery radar, the AN/TPQ-48 is unique in that it uses a circular antenna design to achieve detection coverage in a 360-degree range. At the same time, active phased array technology is also used, directly using the radar beam to scan the shell, and the antenna does not need to be mechanically rotated, so the reaction speed is very fast. The design without a mechanical drive mechanism also makes the weight of the whole system greatly reduced, and the main part of the radar is said to weigh only 50 kg, which can be easily mounted on light vehicles for mobile combat. In terms of function, the AN/TPQ-48 is mainly aimed at locating enemy mortars, and predicting the landing point of incoming mortar shells, issuing early warning for their own side, and guiding artillery fire to counterattack.
Pictured: An/TPQ-48 demonstrated by Ukraine during a military parade
In terms of specific detection performance, the AN/TPQ-48 has different detection distances for mortars of different calibers. Its maximum positioning distance for 81 and 82mm medium-caliber mortars is 4 km, while the maximum positioning distance for 120mm large-caliber mortars is 5 km. The specific positioning error is up to 100 meters, and the closer the distance, the higher the positioning accuracy. This positioning accuracy is not enough to support the accurate response of the enemy artillery, but it is still possible to cover and drive away the enemy gun position. According to previous records, the Americans donated 20 sets of TPQ-48s to Ukraine in 2015, and the Ukrainian army installed this radar on pickup trucks for mobile deployment, which still played a role in the daily artillery battles in the eastern battlefield of Ukraine in recent years.
Figure: Foreign trade YLC-48 multi-function radar launched by mainland manufacturers
In fact, the mainland CLP 14 also launched a foreign trade YLC-48 spider web multi-function radar similar to the TPQ-48, the two radars are very similar in design, but the working band is not the same. TPQ-48 operates in the L-band, while YLC-48 operates in the S-band, which has a longer positioning distance and higher positioning accuracy. According to the airshow publicity materials, its maximum positioning distance for large-caliber mortars reached 7 to 10 kilometers, while the positioning error was about 60 meters. In addition, the YLC-48 also strengthens the detection ability of air targets, which can be used to detect and warn unmanned aerial vehicles, especially for "low, slow and small" targets such as DJI Elves.