Aquila installs new radar on Gibraltar Rock

Aquila Air Traffic Management Services has delivered a new radar to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar.

The radar will serve RAF Gibraltar, the airfield which also serves as Gibraltar’s commercial airport.

A UK RAF Chinook airlifted the massive new radar onto the top of the Rock on 2 March 2022. The helicopter was the only means to transport the 11.8m tall structure, weighing over 8,000kg.

The new radar system is part of the upgrade of air traffic management for UK military air terminals across the UK and overseas being led by Aquila, known as Programme Marshall.

The programme aims to ensure increased reliability for air traffic management and estimated savings of £317 million for the MOD over the course of the 22-year partnership with Aquila.

The £1.5 billion Programme Marshall includes upgrading air surveillance, navigation and communication systems across the UK and overseas including Cyprus Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands.

Aquila was also recently awarded a contract to provide air traffic services for the Falkland Islands as part of Project Samson amid protests from the Argentinian government over the British presence in the region.