Australia deploys new Hensoldt air traffic control sensor

Hensoldt has installed its Airfield Surveillance Radar – Next Generation (ASR-NG) system (pictured) at ADF's Army Aviation Centre Oakey in Queensland. (Hensoldt)

Hensoldt has installed an air traffic control (ATC) sensor at the Australian Defence Force's (ADF's) Army Aviation Centre Oakey in Queensland.

The sensor – delivered as part of the Department of Defence's (DoD's) Project Air 5431 Phase 2 – has achieved initial operational capability (IOC), Hensoldt said in a media release on 25 June.

Project Air 5431 Phase 2 aims to replace the ageing ATC sensors of the ADF with nine new fixed ATC sensors and three independent Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) ground stations.

“The [new] sensors [will] provide surveillance coverage for fixed-base flying operations,” Hensoldt said.

Hensoldt is providing its Airfield Surveillance Radar – Next Generation (ASR-NG) systems to the ADF under Project Air 5431 Phase 2, the DoD said.

According to Hensoldt, the ASR-NG is a multibeam 3D S-band solid-state approach that controls primary and secondary surveillance radar. The radar can detect aircraft that are at a distance of up to 120 n miles and an altitude of 50,000 ft. The radar can also provide 3D height information of non-cooperative targets, clutter cancellation, and wind farm mitigation.

The radar operates within a frequency range of 2,700–2,900 MHz for surveillance. The radar is also integrated with the identification friend-or-foe (IFF) Mode 5 system operating on 1,030 and 1,090 MHz.

The DoD said Hensoldt delivered two ASR-NG systems at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Williamtown and Army Aviation Centre Oakey at the end of 2023. The company is expected to deliver four ASR-NG systems in 2024 at RAAF bases Amberley, East Sale, and Tindal, and Naval Air Station Nowra.