Air Traffic Control Modernization on Bundeswehr Airfields

Koblenz, 07/16/2008.
The Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement (BWB) has ordered 22 ASR-S type airfield radars for the Bundeswehr.

Vice President Stein (left) and Mr. Wenzler, EADS Ulm, excha … (Source: Bundeswehr/WTD 51)Größere Abbildung anzeigen

On 4 July 2008, the Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement (BWB) placed a large order to modernize the airfield radars of the Bundeswehr. The contract comprises the procurement of 21 ASR series systems and the upgrade of an existing operational test model to series standard. The order with a duration of eight years was placed with EADS located in Ulm after operational testing had been successfully completed in 2006.

Of the total of 22 radar systems, the Army will be equipped with 7 systems, the Air Force with 13 systems and the Navy as well as the Bundeswehr Technical and Airworthiness Center for Aircraft (WTD 61) with one system each. The serial contract includes an option for the NATO airfield in Geilenkirchen to be equipped with one system.

Signing the ASR-S serial contract made a considerable contribution to the necessary modernization of the air traffic control on the Bundeswehr airfields. The local military air traffic control can use the ASR-S for monitoring flight operations on the airfields of the Bundeswehr. Being an integral part of national and international air traffic control organizations, the ASR-S is to replace the radar system ASR 910 used since 1979 which requires high efforts to guarantee its operational readiness and supportability.

Antenna unit of the operational test model ASR-S (Source: Bundeswehr/BWB)

The new system consists of a primary radar for long-range surveillance of the surroundings of the Bundeswehr airfields and a secondary radar as well as the evaluation unit equipped with the components necessary for analyzing and displaying detected targets. The radar system is equipped with a state-of-the-art signal processing technology and meets the latest air traffic control standard ’Mode S’.

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