19 July 2022
by Olivia Savage
Estonia is upgrading its GM 403 air surveillance radars (pictured above in operation in Estonia) (Thales-Raytheon Systems)
The Estonian Air Surveillance Wing (ASW) is upgrading its two Thales-Raytheon Systems Ground Master (GM) 403 long‐range air surveillance radars with a series of hardware and software updates, the Estonian Centre for Defence Investment (ECDI) announced on 18 July.
Priit Soosaar, Communications and Radar Category Manager for ECDI told Janes that, once upgraded, the systems will be able to automatically detect NATO aircraft and their detection range will also be substantially improved. Other technical improvements are classified, he noted.
Estonia and Finland have signed a joint procurement agreement to upgrade the radars, as Finland operates similar radar systems, the announcement stated.
The two parties subsequently awarded Thales an EUR11 million (USD 11 million) contract in May to upgrade the radars, Soosaar said. Thales will carry out the modernisation of the radars between 2022 and 2025, with the project formally starting in July, he noted.
In 2009, Estonia and Finland agreed to jointly procure a total of 14 3D medium-range air surveillance radar systems, two of which would be delivered to the Estonian Air Force.
27 March 2024
by Olivia Savage & Cem Devrim Yaylali & Raghuraman C S
A screenshot from an Aselsan video showing its new AESA radar in an anechoic chamber prior to flight trials aboard an F-16. (Aselsan)
Aselsan's new active electronically scanned array (AESA) Nose Radar has completed its maiden flight onboard the Turkish Air Force's (TuAF's) Lockheed Martin F-16 Block-30 fighter jet.
According to Aselsan on 26 March, the indigenously developed radar is designed to support both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions and offers capabilities such as multitarget detection and tracking, beyond-visual-range missile guidance, high-resolution imaging, and electronic warfare functionalities.
Commonly referred to as Murad, the Nose Radar is a key component of the Özgür programme, dedicated to modernising the TuAF's F-16 Block-30 fleet. The initiative involves integrating new indigenous software and hardware on the aircraft, including for the mission control computer, and replacing elements of the avionics and cockpit displays.
After successful integration of the Nose Radar on the F-16 Block-30s, the aircraft will become a 4.5-generation platform, according to the President of Defence Industry Agency (SSB), Haluk Görgün. İsmail Demir, then president of SSB, noted in November 2022 during an unveiling of the radar that its capabilities were “equivalent to the most advanced radars in the world”.
27 March 2024
by Cem Devrim Yaylali
A screenshot from an Aselsan video showing its new AESA radar in an anechoic chamber prior to flight trials aboard an F-16. (Aselsan)
Aselsan revealed on 16 March that its domestically developed active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar made its maiden flight onboard a Turkish Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft.
The test was performed on 15 February aboard a test aircraft that also featured a mission computer developed by Aselsan.
The radar was designed with gallium nitride (GaN)-based chip technology, and has capabilities such as automatic target recognition, multiple target tracking, terrain mapping, distance measurement, automatic altitude determination, under-cloud surveillance with synthetic aperture radar, automatic target classification with artificial intelligence-supported algorithms, wideband radar spectrum monitoring, directional electronic jamming, and more effective guidance for air-launched munitions. Technical specifications of the radar were not disclosed.
Aselsan general manager Ahmet Akyol announced that the radar will operate in manned platforms F-16 Özgür, Hürjet, Kaan, as well as the Akıncı, Kızılelma, and Anka-3 unmanned platforms.
For more information on Turkey's domestically developed AESA radar, please seeTurkish Air Force receives modernised F-16 aircraft.
25 March 2024
by Carlo Munoz
A Silvus Technologies StreamCaster MANET radio paired with an Echodyne MESA radar is demonstrated during a US armed forces readiness exercise. (Echodyne)
Mobile networking company Silvus Technologies is developing a pared down variant of its StreamCaster mobile ad hoc network (MANET) radio, specifically designed to provide networked radio communications capability for small unmanned aircraft systems (UASs).
Company officials are preparing to release “our next generation” of the small UAS-specific StreamCaster variant later this year, Silvus Technologies vice-president of sales Jimi Henderson said.
“We've seen that as a key and demand signal in the market and we're working to help address that gap” with the new variant, he told Janes . Henderson declined to comment on specifics of the new MANET radio variant.
However, he indicated that the new platform would likely feature a significantly smaller form factor, compared with the StreamCaster Lite 4200, which is currently the company's smallest offering in the StreamCaster family of systems.
The Estonian Air Surveillance Wing (ASW) is upgrading its two Thales-Raytheon Systems Ground Master ...
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