BAE Systems tests new ARTISAN radar software for ASBM targets

BAE Systems Maritime Services' UK-based radar business has revealed details of trials to demonstrate the ability of the company's ARTISAN (Advanced Radar Target Indication Situational Awareness and Navigation) 3D E/F-band radar to detect and track high-velocity anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) targets.

Undertaken from a UK Royal Navy (RN) Type 23 frigate during last year's ‘At Sea Demonstration/Formidable Shield 21' (ASD/FS21) integrated air and missile defence exercise, the trials involved the fielding and demonstration of an experimental software load developed by BAE Systems using internal funding.

ARTISAN 3D – designated Radar Type 997 in RN service – is a rotating, three-dimensional medium-range maritime radar system providing air surveillance and target indication, air traffic management, and surface surveillance capabilities. Its performance against challenging low-radar cross-section targets, as well as the requirement to measure target elevation, is a significant enabler for the GWS 35 Sea Ceptor local-area anti-air defence system.

According to BAE Systems, an initial assessment of a standard ARTISAN 3D/Radar Type 997 against high-speed targets was conducted during the ‘Formidable Shield 2019' (FS19) exercise off northwest Scotland in May 2019. The system's detection and tracking performance was evaluated against both short-range and medium-range ballistic missile targets.

The promise shown by the system in FS19 subsequently led to the development of a special software build. “We introduced the ability for the radar to track vertical targets and very high velocity targets,” said Steve Newnham, BAE Systems' naval surveillance radars lead. “We also modified the track classifier software to give faster track initiation times.”

This experimental build was tested during ASD/FS21 in May last year as part of a trial sponsored by the UK Missile Defence Centre. “This has opened the door, and shown that [Radar Type] 997 has a good basis to provide ASBM early warning,” Newnham told Janes .