E-Scan Radar for Target Detection and Weapon Cueing
Raytheon UK has tapped Blighter Surveillance Systems to supply its multi-mode A800 3D e-scan radar to support a laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW) project for Britain’s MoD.
The project will deliver a demonstrator to showcase the capability of Raytheon’s laser in neutralising small UAS, using two A800 radars for initial target detection and direction of the laser’s targeting system. The laser weapon system will be vehicle-mounted, with the ground-based A800 providing detection and designation nearby.
Blighter will assist in the system design phase, and in development of a concept of operation and support during the trials, which will take place at an MoD test range. Blighter was selected not only for the best-in-class detection capabilities of the radar itself, but also because the A800 is designed with integration in mind, able to seamlessly operate in cohesion with existing C2 systems.
The radar offers an innovative ground-based solution to threat detection, utilising multi-mode surveillance capability (usually reserved for large-scale radars) packaged in a smaller, more flexible unit with a maximum 20km range. Its multi-mode capability allows it to detect targets in the air, on land, and at sea, within the operating region of the LDEW, using state-of-the-art clutter filters to simplify the LDEW test regime. The radar is ideally suited to detection of UAS, can be installed on vehicles, and will be supplied in an ITAR-free off-the-shelf configuration.
Blighter CEO, James Long, said the project “will demonstrate how our cutting-edge A800 e-scanning radar can operate in synchronicity with next-generation technology to provide the edge on the battlefield” and further stated the selection provides “threat detection and integration for […] an important step in counter-UAV operations.”
