Typical military radars which can be employed for such missions include the Thales RB-12, Elta MDSR (EL/M-2129) or PPS-5 (currently enhanced by Syracuse Research Corporation into the PPS-5D version). These systems are capable of detecting a human target at a distance of 3-10 km. Airborne threats (such as ULM or UAVs) can be spotted at long distance, while vehicles can be detected and tracked at a distance of 10 – 20 km. Due to their high sensitivity and wide area coverage, these radars usually generate substantial “noise”, especially when operating adjacent to populated areas. To reduce such noise, radars are optimized to cover shorter ranges, and implement special filtering algorithms which improve their performance in force protection roles.
Motorola Perimeter Surveillance Radar System (PSRS) and EL/M-2128 MINDER from Elta are two examples of such radars – they are designed to operate under all weather conditions, spot movement at short distances of up to 1,000 meters from a fence and trigger an instantaneous alarm including location, bearing and distance of the target. Perimeter Surveillance Radar System (PSRS) is a compact ground based radar designed by Motorola Israel for detection of human and vehicular targets, at a short distance from the fence. Modern radars can link directly to digital maps and geographical databases, feeding target data directly into net-centric tactical command systems.
Plextek is offering the BLightER electronically scanned surveillance radar capable of detecting human targets at ranges from 50 meters up to 5 km. The BLightER 200 uses static antenna covers an arc of 80 degrees BLightER uses a wireless network to automatically linking with neighboring radars and command centers. When security coverage of a large area is required, aerostats are providing an effective solution – medium size aerostats with volumes of 50 – 35 cubic meters can lift electro-optical, radar and ESM sensors for extended durations, and provide continuous coverage of wide area, at ranges of several kilometers around the site. Typical aerostat borne systems are TAOS and Mini-TAOS, produced by RAFAEL. Larger aerostats such as JLENS, by Raytheon extend ground and air defense capability to protect from cruise missile attacks.
Additional parts of this article:
- Surveillance Systems for Perimeter Defense
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Security Applications of Ground Surveillance Radars
