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17 May 17. Brazil’s new OTH-100 High Frequency (HF: three megahertz/MHz to 30MHz) naval surveillance radar is expected to be operational by 2018, confidential sources have informed armadainternational.com.
Procured to provide a Recognised Maritime Picture for the Brazilian armed forces, the OTH-100 uses Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta division’s EL/M-2270 HF over-the-horizon radar as its core. This is a land-based system consisting of transmitting and receiving antennae which has an instrumented range of around 200 nautical miles/nm (370.4 kilometres) according to the company’s official literature. Brazilian firm IACIT to develop the radar for use as a maritime surveillance system for the country. The radar employs backscatter techniques to bounce its transmissions off the ionosphere which resides at altitudes of between 32.3nm (60km) up to 539.9nm (1000km) above the Earth’s surface; this provides the radar with an over-the-horizon range. The OTH-100 will scan up to 120 degrees in azimuth, with the installation housing the radar based at the southern tip of the Brazilian coast. In addition, the radar’s imagery can be fused with information gathered from the satellite-based Automatic Identification System (AIS) to provide vessel identification. The AIS is mandated by the International Maritime Organisation, the United Nations body which regulates global shipping, for all vessels displacing over 300 tonnes. Sources continued that the radar is currently undergoing test and evaluation with a view to it becoming operational in 2018. (Source: Armada)
17 May 17. MFRAD Radar To Commence Sea Trials By Year End. GEM Elettronica plans to commence sea trials of its MFRAD X-band (8.5-10.68 gigahertz) naval surveillance radar by the end of the year, the company disclosed at the IMDEX maritime defence exhibition and conference on 17th May. Speaking to armadainternational.com, the firm disclosed that sea trials of this radar are expected to commence onboard the Marina Militare (Italian Navy) ‘Sirio’ class Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) ITS Orione by the end of the year, with the view to bringing the radar to market in 2018. Although the Italian Navy has no formal programme to retrofit the remaining vessel of the ‘Sirio’ class with the MFRAD, the firm is confident that the MFRAD could prove to an attractive system for the ‘Comandanti’ and ‘Cassiopea’ classes of OPVs in the future, and is aiming this radar at navies operating OPV and corvette sized ships. At present, the ‘Sirius’ class uses the Selex/Leonardo RAN-30X/I X-band naval surveillance radar.
The radar uses a planar array and has a maximum instrumented range of circa 96 nautical miles (177.7km) according to the firm, with a maximum elevation coverage of circa 60 degrees and the capability to track around 300 targets. The radar can be integrated with a third-party identification friend or foe antenna which can be mounted on the rear of the antenna. The three-dimensional radar (altitude, azimuth and velocity) could experience further development in the next five years, according to the firm, with the possibility that it may form the basis for a fixed panel radar, whereas the present MFRAD design uses a rotating antenna. (Source: Armada)
17 May 17. Terma Steps Forward With Scanter. Terma is planning to complete testing of new and upgraded naval surveillance and navigation radars by the end of this year, the company has told armadainternational.com
Speaking during the IMDEX maritime defence exhibition and conference in Singapore on 16th May, the firm disclosed that it plans to complete at-sea testing of its new SCANTER-2600 maritime surveillance and navigation radar by the end of this year, adding that the radar is already undergoing testing at sea. This X-band (8.5-10.68 gigahertz) system has been designed by the firm to not only equip