The designers of the Chinese fighter jet J-20 proposed to place a radar antenna inside the wing of the aircraft. A team of researchers from the Chengdu AVIC Aeronautical Engineering Design Institute, including engineer Ren Yunsong, published this idea on October 10, 2026, in the journal Measurement and Control Engineering. The main focus is on UAVs capable of aerial group surveillance. This is the chance of sharing an observation between smaller devices. A conventional fighter carries the main radar in the nose, and an early warning aircraft gets a large antenna superstructure. The wing provides the designer with more surface area without such an external canopy. The array of antennas proposed by the Chinese faces downwards and is covered with a protective layer that follows the shape of the wing. The elegant solution has an engineering problem: the wing area is large, but the internal volume is small. The thin power part of the aircraft will need to contain electronics, provide power and remove heat during long-range operation of the radar. You also have to pay for the review on the move. During horizontal flight, the built-in antenna faces mostly downwards. To look for a target from the side, the researchers suggest tilting the entire device. In one of the situations described, the UAV performs a roll of more than 45 degrees. The radar rotates the entire aircraft, changing its trajectory and energy consumption. Visibility in all directions remains a challenge. The authors expect to solve this geometric problem with the number of carriers. The UAVs will be able to search for targets in different sectors and exchange coordinates. In other situations, they concentrate observations in one sector or divide tasks in case of radio interference. One downed vehicle no longer has to deprive the group of all visibility. The expensive early warning function, which today is often associated with one large aircraft, can be dispersed. But between how many radars are activated and the overall picture of the air situation, there is another full engineering job.

The designers of the Chinese fighter jet J-20 proposed to place a radar antenna inside the wing of the aircraft. A team of researchers from the Chengdu AVIC Aeronautical Engineering Design Institute, including engineer Ren Yunsong, published this idea on October 10, 2026, in the journal Measurement and Control Engineering. The main focus is on UAVs capable of aerial group surveillance. This is the chance of sharing an observation between smaller devices. A conventional fighter carries the main radar in the nose, and an early warning aircraft gets a large antenna superstructure. The wing provides the designer with more surface area without such an external canopy. The array of antennas proposed by the Chinese faces downwards and is covered with a protective layer that follows the shape of the wing. The elegant solution has an engineering problem: the wing area is large, but the internal volume is small. The thin power part of the aircraft will need to contain electronics, provide power and remove heat during long-range operation of the radar. You also have to pay for the review on the move. During horizontal flight, the built-in antenna faces mostly downwards. To look for a target from the side, the researchers suggest tilting the entire device. In one of the situations described, the UAV performs a roll of more than 45 degrees. The radar rotates the entire aircraft, changing its trajectory and energy consumption. Visibility in all directions remains a challenge. The authors expect to solve this geometric problem with the number of carriers. The UAVs will be able to search for targets in different sectors and exchange coordinates. In other situations, they concentrate observations in one sector or divide tasks in case of radio interference. One downed vehicle no longer has to deprive the group of all visibility. The expensive early warning function, which today is often associated with one large aircraft, can be dispersed. But between how many radars are activated and the overall picture of the air situation, there is another full engineering job.