STEWART PENNEY / EDINBURGH
BAE Systems Avionics is preparing its Seaspray 7000 active-array radar for production, a process that is expected to take up to nine months.
TheSeaspray 7000 combines the processing of the existing Seaspray maritime surveillance radar- which is based on commercial off-the-shelf processors - with an active electronically-scanned array (AESA).BAE says the new system is the first maritime radar equipped with an AESA as previous developments have been aimed at fighter and airborne early-warning applications.
Bob Sinclair, BAE Avionics capability manager (radar), says the company has completed range tests with a prototype radar, while a unit at its Edinburgh, Scotland, factory is being assessed against airborne and surface targets of opportunity on the Firth of Forth.
"The next stage is a productionisation exercise. It is up and running and expected to take six to nine months," says Sinclair. If BAE signed a contract now, a radar would be delivered in 18 months, he adds.
The number of transmitter/receiver modules in a radar will depend on customer requirements, says Steve Marlow, BAE Avionics Sensor Systems division vice-president export naval helicopter systems.
The Seaspray 7000 has common building blocks with fighter radars, and BAE is working on a series of generic components for a range of programmes "so we can use the radar with the [AgustaWestland] EH101, and [Sikorsky] S-92, for instance, without having to redesign the system. We will reuse the building blocks."
Source: Flight International
