Australia and USA Collaborating on New Phased Array Radar
Related Stories: Alliances, Americas - USA, Australia & S. Pacific, Contracts - Intent, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Partnerships & Consortia, Protective Systems - Naval, R&D - Contracted, Radars
Australia’s Ministry of Defence reports that Australia and the United States have joined forces by signing a joint agreement to further develop Australian active phased array radar technology. The total development cost is estimated to be approximately $30 million over three years.
Defence Minister Robert Hill said both countries will share the development costs, technical expertise and benefits of the CEAFAR (3D) active phased array radar. This technology is being developed by ACT electronics company CEA Technologies as part of Australia’s bid to make its new Anzac-Class frigates survivable against supersonic cruise missiles, but it also has other military and civil applications on land and sea.
Senator Hill congratulated CEA Technologies and the Australian Ministry of Defence’s Defence Materiel Organisation for the work done to bring about this joint project, and noted that “The program will allow further development of the CEA radar technology for possible use in medium to long range air warfare and ballistic missile defence. The technology can also be applied to smaller ships and other Australian Defence Force air surveillance assets… [and] also has potential to be used in a range of US programs including the Littoral Combat Ship and other new ship programs, land and land mobile programs, as well as replacing legacy systems on some US ships… We have a very close working relationship with the US Navy on this project, with US staff embedded in the project team.”
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Note that in order to be useful in long range air warfare and ballistic missile defense, these phased array radars would need to be integrated via systems like a more advanced and powerful form of CEA’s CEAMOUNT hand-off/ uplink, or ideally by a more powerful integration with the U.S. Navy’s Co-operative Engagement Capability (CEC).
CEC works especially well with the AEGIS radar & combat system, which will be present in Australia’s new SEA 4000 Air Warfare Destroyers. Long-range intercept capabilility via advanced versions of the Standard (SM-2 Block III+) missile which Australia is already buying is also helpful, given CEC’s ability to have advance ships help to track and engage threats beyond the firing ship’s radar range.
Senator Hill said the program highlighted the Government’s 2000 Defence White Paper commitment to support high technology projects, foster Australian industry’s innovative use of advanced technologies and seek opportunities in the global market.
UPDATES:
- Jane’s Navy International (Jan 22/07) – “Australia’s CEA Technologies is continuing to progress engineering development of the CEAFAR active phased-array radar system for the Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) upgrade of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) eight ANZAC-class frigates.Selection of CEAFAR E/F-band phased-array radar and associated CEAMOUNT I/J-band missile illuminator for the ASMD upgrade (under Project SEA 1448) was confirmed by the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) in September 2005. This endorsement followed successful land-based and shipborne trials of the CEAFAR system over the past two-and-a-half years…”
- DID (Feb 3/06) – Australia’s Small CEAFAR Phased-Array Radars Move to Next Stage. CEA receives a contract to continue development, and the next stage would be production. DID Also notes other developments connecting CEA partners to the Air Warfare Destroyer program. See full DID coverage.
