The Type 94 radar picket trades crew risk for data risk

Is a dedicated Type 94 radar ship useful if Type 91 vessels can carry CEAFAR and the carrier can carry Sampson?

A remote radar can reveal itself without exposing the carrier, but it adds an expensive target and delay to the sensor-to-shooter data path.

Putting an active radar on an uncrewed picket lets the sensor reveal its position while the carrier remains electromagnetically quieter. That protection is less attractive once the radar and processing equipment become the most expensive parts of the picket. The proposed force already includes CEAFAR on Type 91 vessels and Sampson or an improved derivative on the carrier, which creates several other sensor positions. A separate Type 94 must pass data to the carrier before the carrier assigns a weapon to another ship, adding links and delay to the engagement. Heavy traffic can overload the wireless path, while carrying the data over laser links may require several dedicated channels. This bandwidth judgment is a rough calculation rather than a measured performance result. The initial concept is judged more polished than settled, with considerable room for change before construction.