Aerostats to use AESA radar from SELEX Galileo for wide area surveillance
SELEX Galileo, a Finmeccanica company, has been awarded a contract by Worldwide Aeros Corporation, a US prime contractor for aerostat vehicles, to deliver its Seaspray 7500E Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. The Seaspray radar will equip an Aeros ground-surveillance tethered aerostat balloon operated by the Republic of Korea Army, marking SELEX Galileo‘s expansion into the rapidly growing aerostat market segment.
Tethered aerostat balloons meet the need for 24 hour persistent surveillance in conflict areas, regions of cross-border tension and for general border security. Current generation systems equipped with Electro Optic (EO) payloads are widely used, but market demand is now strong for radar system payloads such as the Seaspray that can provide additional benefits such as all weather, 24 hour wide area surveillance. The Seaspray 7500E will also provide a long range Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI) capability for border surveillance.
In addition to providing capability benefits, the Seaspray 7500E radar is perfectly suited to aerostat operations due to its solid state AESA technology which makes it highly reliable. This allows the radar to remain deployed on aerostat balloons for many weeks at a time.
“We are thrilled that our proven AESA technology is leading the Company into this exciting market” said Alastair Morrison, SVP for radar and advanced targeting at SELEX Galileo, adding “Seaspray has already been sold to a number of customers including the US Coastguard and US Customs and Border Protection. This contract demonstrates the versatility of the technology and the Company‘s agility in adapting quickly to new market demands”.
Seaspray 7500E radars have been selected by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Customs and Border Protection (US CBP) for installation in the organisation‘s King Air 350ER Multi-role Enforcement Aircraft (MEA). The US Coast Guard also selected the Seaspray 7500E for its HC-130H maritime patrol aircraft, which is now in operational service.
Jun 24, 2011 Posted by John McHale and defpro.com
