Non-Subscriber ExtractDSEi: BAE Systems offers layered defence for commercial ships |
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By Jon Rosamond
10 September 2009
The UK Royal Navy is acting in an advisory capacity as BAE Systems develops an early warning suite intended to help commercial ships counter the threat of piracy at sea.
Drawing on existing technologies, the proposed solution includes an HF surface wave radar (SWR) to detect small craft at ranges up to 25 km; a panoramic area surveillance system fusing a 360-degree video camera, IR and navigation radar data to provide visual identification; a Passive Radar Identification System (PRISM) to warn of unidentified radar-carrying vessels; and improved shipboard lighting.
A feasibility study is under way, BAE Systems announced on 8 September at the Defence Systems and Equipment International (DSEi) exhibition in London. Technology and capability sea trials involving a prototype suite installed in a commercial vessel are expected to take place in UK waters early in 2010.