Airbus DS EBS to modernise Air Traffic Control at German military Airfields

The modernisation of air traffic control at German military airfields through the installation of the ASR-S (Aerodrome Surveillance Radar, Series) by Airbus DS Electronics and Border Security (EBS), in future HENSOLDT, has gained in momentum. The delivery of an ASR system to the German Air Force’s technical training centre South (Untermeitingen) at Lagerlechfeld Air Base near Augsburg and to the technical centre WTD 61 in Manching means that the fifth and sixth unit of altogether 20 radar systems have now been delivered and accepted by the customer.

The ASR systems will replace the 30-year-old radars which have been used until now in military air traffic control. The new radars will be used for approach control at the airfields themselves and for airspace surveillance within a radius of 100 km (60 NM, Manching: 80 NM) to safely coordinate military flight movements with civil air traffic. The ASR-S is already in service at the German Air Force bases in Laupheim, Büchel and Wittmund as well as at the Army air base in Niederstetten.

“The ASR increases air traffic safety at strongly frequented airfields”, said Thomas Müller, CEO of the future HENSOLDT. “Special signal processing ensures, for example, that all aircraft are guided reliably and precisely during take-off and approach.”

The ASR consists of a primary and a secondary radar system. The primary radar helps to identify non-cooperative objects such as small aircraft that do not have transponders. It is based on a semiconductor transmitter and includes special signal processing techniques for wide-area surveillance. The secondary radar, MSSR 2000 I, ensures the automatic identification of cooperative aircraft. This secondary radar meets the new “Mode S” air traffic control standard, which greatly improves aircraft identification queries and is currently being introduced in the Central European airspace.

EBS supplies air traffic control and identification systems in the military and civilian sector worldwide. For example, the company delivers a complete approach control system for the Swiss Air Force. Other ASR versions are under contract to be delivered to Australia and Canada. The MSSR 2000 I secondary radar is also deployed by the naval forces of Germany, France, Norway and Finland for military friend-or-foe identification. For civil and military air traffic control, these identification systems are used, for example, in Germany, France, the UK or the USA.