4 ms·
As far as I know, the terminals were mainly so expensive due to the large phased array antenna. I wonder if these cost reductions are mainly from managing to pr
by dotnet00 3y ago
As far as I know, the terminals were mainly so expensive due to the large phased array antenna. I wonder if these cost reductions are mainly from managing to produce them cheaply and if that might be valuable as a commoditized phased array for other applications.
- cfcosta 3y agoI also imagine they can work with cheaper antennas now that they have many more satellites on orbit.
- carabiner 3y agoThe F-22's APG-77 phased array radar became cheaper when one key component became a commercial off the shelf part for wifi routers.
- teleforce 3y agoI'm curious, can you share the name of that particular key component?
- carabiner 3y agoNo idea unfortunately. I think I read this a long time ago possibly from a Bill Sweetman report.
- teleforce 3y agoThanks for the clue, apparently it's the GaAs MMIC technology according to the ChatGPT-4 [1]. I've should have figured it out in the first place due to my previous research work of Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology that now become the successor to GaAs technology due to high power Radar requirements. I suppose this is where ChatGPT become really handy for research, as Google is extremely useful for search. Similarly with LIDAR, the autonomous vehicles demand has made the LIDAR sensor now become very affordable for the masses. [1] ChatGPT-4 response: "The key component of the F-22's APG-77 phased array radar that was made cheaper by Wi-Fi technologies, according to Bill Sweetman's reports, is the Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) technology. This technology was significantly reduced in cost due to its widespread use in commercial Wi-Fi systems, allowing the defense industry to leverage economies of scale and reduce the overall cost of producing the radar system for the F-22 Raptor."
- carabiner 3y agoHoly shit that's insane.
- teleforce 3y agoI concur, initially I've tried to search using Google but to no avail. Then I prompted ChatGPT-4 and voila the answers [1]. [1] Prompt: "What is the key component of F-22's APG-77 phased array radar that made cheaper by wifi according sweetman report"
- mlindner 3y agoDoes it give the same answer if you try multiple times with new sessions?
- scld 3y agoI would be surprised if the older, higher costs didn't include broker fees for scarce ICs in the supply shortage. I'm sure they've gone through a few revisions but part of that cost drop is simply price of components dropping.
- starbase 3y agoParts count has gone way down. Gen 1 terminals used something like 80 beamformer ICs with 8 frontend ICs for each one. 700+ chips on the board. Gen 3 runs 16 beamformers with 2 frontends each.
- wkat4242 3y agoThe array itself no, because the size of the elements is a function of the transmit frequency. The driver IC's, perhaps.