Because of one example you would assume that in general AESAs are heavier than PESA and require liquid cooling, never mind the NEBO VHF AESA array I showed you never used any of that sort, and never mind that the Type 346 set weighs about less than 16 tons for a set compared to the SPY-1's nearly 6 metric tons per face, not counting the weight below which is another 65 tons.
I never said PESA is lighter than AESA. What I said is that the weight at the antenna level is larger in AESA than in PESA, because in the former most of the radar is embedded with the antenna, whereas the latter can have the transmitters and receivers located at a distance from the antenna. However, as a system AESA should weigh less than a comparable PESA. If true, they would’ve mounted the arrays much higher on Type 055.
Flightglobal diagram isn't exactly conclusive, never mind that it shows digital receivers on the array itself, and the broadband processor is also on the array. And what about the two links that I have shown you?
Digital receivers on the array would not be unheard of: that’s also known as a hybrid PESA/AESA radar.
Unfortunately, the manufacturer doesn’t clear this up, other than refering to the transmitter in singular and receiver in plural.
This radar systems handbook also speaks of one transmitter and multiple receivers:
We shouldn’t use the number of articles as proof for a thesis. Granted, there is reason to be suspicious and analysis by analogy weighs more on it being AESA.
