SurveillanceNew radar optimized for homeland security

Published 12 April 2011

A new radar is designed to provide an affordable, modular solution for border protection and coverage of wide areas, offering good detection capability of ground targets and aerial targets, specifically homeland security-relevant objects flying slow at very low level

Israel’s defense electronics company RADA is using the occasion of the at LAAD 2011 event to unveil a new phased array ground and air surveillance radar optimized for homeland security applications. The RHS-40 Multimode Hemisphere Surveillance Radars (MHSR) is a new member RADA’s family of pulse Doppler, Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA), solid state radars, used in active protection systems, perimeter defense, and now — air and ground surveillance.

Defense Update reports that the MHSR combines four individual elements synchronized into hemispheric 3D coverage. Each element covers a sector of 90° and can operate independently. Assembled in four panels formed in a pyramid-like structure MHSR provides almost full hemispheric coverage of ground and air surveillance over 360° in azimuth, and 80° in elevation at tactical ranges. According to RADA, the radar was designed to provide an affordable, modular solution for border protection and coverage of wide areas, offering good detection capability of ground targets and aerial targets, specifically homeland security-relevant objects flying slow at very low level.

The MHSR is programmable for multi-mode operation, detecting typical threats relevant to the homeland security and military domains. In February this year RADA launched another member of its static ground surveillance radar family, the RHS-20 Perimeter Surveillance Radar (PSR). This model uses a different configuration also covering 360° and is capable of detecting and tracking multiple moving targets such as pedestrians, vehicles, and marine vessels as well as slow, low-flying targets such as UAVs and Ultra-Light Motorized Aircraft (ULA/ULM).

The PSR operates in the C-Band, offering better performance in poor visibility conditions and under adverse weather conditions (heavy rain and snow). According to RADA, its new radars easily interface with any security system and other radars and sensors via Ethernet links.