News of South Korea's selection of the L3Harris Global 6500 prompts an initial assessment of the airborne-warning platform. The airframe offers room for electronics, and the pictured installation appears to use side-mounted radar. Phased-array panels on aircraft are familiar technology even though the arrangement differs from the Hawkeye silhouette. Concern about the fuel burden is balanced against the mission's modest speed requirement, which allows efficient high-bypass engines.
Notable Point · 1:03:47-1:04:46
South Korea's Global 6500 airborne-warning platform
The reported Global 6500 selection prompts a comparison of electronics space, apparently side-mounted radar panels, and the modest speed requirements of airborne-warning aircraft.