Airbus DS Electronics and Border Security (EBS) is currently equipping the military airfields in Germany with the ASR (Aerodrome Surveillance Radar), the most powerful airport surveillance radar in the world, as part of a modernization program.
The first ASR system for the Army has now been handed over to the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 at Niederstetten Air Base. A total of 20 systems will be delivered altogether.
The ASR systems will replace the 30-year-old radars which have been used until now in military air traffic control. The new radars will be used for approach control at the airfields themselves and for airspace surveillance within a radius of 60 NM (110 km) to safely coordinate military flight movements with civil air traffic. The radar handed over to the Niederstetten Army Airfield is the fourth system in this product series, and the first system delivered to the army. The ASR-S is already in service at the German Air Force bases in Laupheim, Büchel and Wittmund.
“ASR offers extraordinary performance, as proven in an extensive test phase. In particular, the sophisticated signal processing guarantees reliable and exact target tracking even under difficult environmental conditions,” said Thomas Müller, CEO of Airbus DS EBS.
The ASR comprises a primary radar based on a semiconductor transmitter and special signal processing technology for wide-area surveillance. It is combined with the MSSR 2000 I secondary radar for the automatic identification of aircraft. This secondary radar meets the new “Mode S” air traffic control standard, which greatly improves aircraft identification queries and is currently being introduced in the Central European airspace.
EBS supplies air traffic control and identification systems in the military and civilian sector worldwide. For example, the company delivers a complete approach control system for the Swiss Air Force. Other ASR versions are under contract to be delivered to Australia and Canada. The MSSR 2000 I secondary radar is also deployed by the naval forces of Germany, France, Norway and Finland for military friend-or-foe identification. For civil and military air traffic control, these identification systems are used, for example, in Germany, France, USA, UK, Bulgaria or the Philippines.
EBS is the new sensor house, a leading global provider of premium electronics in the areas of protection, reconnaissance and surveillance. The company equips armed forces and security organizations around the world on the basis of a 100-year tradition and experience gained from renowned technological predecessors such as Dasa, Aérospatiale-Matra, Telefunken, Dornier and Zeiss. EBS employs some 4,000 employees generating revenues of approximately €1 billion per year.
EBS is a 100% subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space. Airbus Group has signed a share purchase agreement with the investment company KKR in order to transfer ownership of initially 74.9% of the EBS shares to KKR. The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and employee consultation, and is expected to be put into effect in the first quarter of 2017. Thereafter, the company will appear under the brand name of “Hensoldt” following the tradition of a German pioneer of sensor technology whose name stands for the combination of excellence, innovation and efficiency.
