Airbus D&S Refines Passive Radar, Explores Civil Use

Passive detection of aircraft has been developing for many decades and there is renewed interest in Eastern Europe.

By Chris Pocock • Defense Correspondent

July 13, 2014

At the recent ILA Berlin Airshow, Airbus Defence & Space reported progress with the passive radar [alternatively, passive coherent location (PCL)] system that predecessor company Cassidian had been developing since 2006. Frank Bernhardt, project manager, said that the company has “worked closely” with two armed forces on tests of the system. One of them is Germany. Airbus D&S has also gained a study contract with the UK Civil Aviation Authority to explore the ATC applications of passive radar.

Bernhardt reported that a second sensor van was added to the system last year, thus providing more ellipsoids and improving accuracy. The system has been adapted to work with DAB+ signals, with DVB-T2 to come. “I believe we are still the only ones to have fused three bands,” he added. The system can process eight FM transmitters, plus one each of DAB+ and DVB-T. Airbus D&S claims a detection range of up to 200 km (FM) for larger aircraft, and an accuracy of 10 m (DAB/DVB-T). The recent test used two light aircraft and a Learjet 35 as targets.

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