Thales, Saab, and Hensoldt are the only three companies that have so far submitted bids for the tender opened by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), which seeks to acquire two mobile three-dimensional radar systems for the 1st Communications and Control Group (1º GCC), a long-standing request of the FAB within its Strategic Programs.
By definition, the 1st GCC, subordinated to the Airspace Control Department (Decea), provides transportable means of communication, control, and air alarm in places without these capabilities or punctually reinforces fixed installations to meet operational demands.
Its equipment, generators, and support material/platforms are designed to be transported by ground and packed in rugged cases divided into modules.
They are also transportable by air, and their assembly and commissioning must be fast, not exceeding a few hours.
PROPOSALS
The Specific Procurement Center (CAE) is the unit responsible for carrying out the tender.
So far, the firms Thales, with its GM400 Alpha; Saab, with the Giraffe 4-A; and Hensoldt, with the TRML-4D radar, have already submitted bids.
Saab’s Giraffe-4A radar uses AESA medium/long-range surveillance technology operating in S-band (E/F) and is designed to be easily upgraded and ready to respond to new threats.
This radar can perform a 360° 3D sweep up to 70° with 60 rpm, providing unprecedented target update speed, high altitude coverage, and monopulse accuracy; it also can reject false alarms caused by noise or interference.
With five times the processing power, an instrumented range increase of more than 10% (515 km) over the Ground Master 400, and equipped with new advanced artificial intelligence capabilities, the Thales Ground Master 400 Alpha (GM400α).
The GM400α offers high mobility, high availability, ease of upgradeability, and integration in a single device.
Thanks to digital stacked beam technology, the GM400 Alpha detects targets ranging from fast jets and missiles to helicopters and uncrewed aerial vehicles in stationary flight.
A unique feature of the GM400 Alpha is detecting and tracking threats such as tactical UAVs flying close to the ground, hidden in near-radar confusion, while simultaneously detecting and tracking higher altitude targets such as fighter-bombers flying within its aerial target detection range of up to 515 km.
The TRML-4D radar from Germany’s Hensoldt uses the latest AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar technology with multiple digitally shaped beams.
It is capable of detecting, tracking, and classifying various types of airborne targets, with a particular focus on cruise missiles and aircraft, including small, fast, and low-altitude aircraft and helicopters.
It ensures rapid detection and tracking of 1,500 targets within a radius of up to 250 km.
The TRML-4D is designed for continuous operation and high operational availability.
It also meets the requirements of interoperability, connectivity, and, most importantly, the possibility of attaching to the set a modern IFF 5 (identification friend or foe) system produced by Hensoldt that provides an encryption-protected version of Mode S and GPS position ADS-B.
With information from Infodefensa