Sep 25 2007
Thales UK has announced the launch of COASTMASTER, a compact, lightweight radar system (30kg) designed to be fitted in standard or electro-optic / infrared unmanned air vehicle (UAV) payload bays. This new radar combines high-performance ground surveillance with advanced maritime capabilities.
Designed to complement Thales¡¦s existing airborne surveillance family for naval and maritime customers such as navies, coastguards, customs and excise, and fisheries, COASTMASTER has been specifically developed to meet the requirements of platforms such as UAVs, helicopters and small manned aircraft.
Applications include surveillance of coastal areas, country borders and exclusive economic zones where anti-drug trafficking, economic migration control and counter terrorism, as well as the protection of vulnerable maritime assets such as ecological protection zones and fisheries, are a focus.
Its breadth of coverage means that COASTMASTER is suited to the detection of small and fast-moving targets whether over land or off shore, in particularly estuarine regions or those ¡V such as the US, Canada, South America and South East Asia ¡V with a large number of islands or waterways.
With UAVs increasingly used in border protection and counter-piracy, COASTMASTER¡¦s design ensures low impact on air vehicle operation or endurance, and includes high-fidelity maritime and ground surveillance modes including maritime reconnaissance and moving target indicator, SAR, ISAR and GMTI.
The ability to combine these capabilities into a low-cost, robust, single-unit sensor system is a key step forward in radar and UAV evolution, according to Richard Deakin, Managing Director of Thales UK¡¦s aerospace business.
¡§Thales¡¦s latest airborne radar product combines an increasingly capable system with surveillance modes that assist domination of the information war. Its capability will put timely and accurate information into the hands of the task commander, to enable them to accelerate the decision cycle against time-sensitive targets,¡¨ says Deakin.
He adds: ¡§We have worked closely with our customers to ensure we have developed the right solution to the wide array of applications, effectively bringing next-generation radar to UAVs for the first time. COASTMASTER is the result of many years of experience in operating radar systems under active service conditions.¡¨