Airbus, acting through a subsidiary, has begun equipping German military airfields with the Aerodrome Surveillance Radar (ASR) as part of a modernization program, the company said Oct. 24.
Airbus DS Electronics and Border Security (EBS) gave the first ASR system to the German Army’s Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 at Niederstetten Air Base as part of a 20-system total delivery. Airbus DS EBS supplies air traffic control and identification systems in the military and civilian sectors
ASR systems are set to replace 30-year-old radars that have previously been used in military air traffic control. The new units are used for approach control at the airfields themselves as well as for airspace surveillance within a 68-mile radius to safely coordinate military flight movements with civil air traffic.
The radar system comprises a primary radar based on a semiconductor transmitter and special signal processing technology for wide-area surveillance. This is combined with the MSSR 2000 I secondary radar for the automatic identification of aircraft. The secondary radar meets the new air traffic control standard, “Model S.” The new standard improves aircraft identification queries and is being introduced into the overall Central European airspace, Airbus said.
The company highlighted the radar handed to the Niederstetten Airfield is the fourth in the product series and first delivered to the army. The ASR-S model is already in service at German Air Force bases in Laupheim, Büchel and Wittmund.
“ASR offers extraordinary performance, as proven in an extensive test phase. In particular, the sophisticated signal processing guarantees reliable and exact target tracking even under difficult environmental conditions,” Thomas Müller, CEO of Airbus DS EBS, said in a statement.