Lockheed Martin to provide surveillance radar to United Kingdom for world's largest offshore wind farm
Lockheed Martin will deliver a long-range air surveillance radar system to the United Kingdom that overcomes sensor performance issues commonly caused by the rotating blades of wind turbines.
The advanced electronics of Lockheed Martin's TPS-77 radar mitigate interference, or "clutter," that commonly obscure radar targets in and around wind farms. The new radar system will provide reliable air defense surveillance capabilities for the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) and allow the nation to move forward with aggressive plans to install some 924 turbines along England's east coast.
The radar will provide surveillance over five planned wind farms in the Greater Wash Strategic Area - Sheringham Shoal, Race Bank, Dudgeon, Triton Knoll and Docking Shoal - that are expected to generate more than 5,500 megawatts of sustainable power.
Under contract with Serco, Lockheed Martin will deliver this new TPS-77 system by November 2011. In the UK, Serco has served as Lockheed Martin's in-country Contractor Logistic Support partner for the MoD's FPS-117, or Type 92 radars, delivering greater than 98 percent operational availability.
The TPS-77 radars' capabilities in "green" wind field environments has been demonstrated in tests at land-based wind farms near the company's outdoor test range in Cazenovia, NY, as well as in trials with the Horns Rev offshore wind farm in the North Sea. The radar itself is also highly energy-efficient, delivering top performance while using just half the power of comparable S-band radars.
The new TPS-77 radar system supports the goals of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change to reduce fuel consumption. In 2009, the UK established the Low Carbon Transition Plan to reduce emissions 34 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. The plan calls for an 80 percent reduction by 2050. With more than 200 operational offshore wind farms, wind power is the nation's biggest renewable energy source. In 2008, the UK surpassed Denmark as the largest offshore wind generator in the world.
"Lockheed Martin continually incorporates state of the art technology into its TPS-77 and FPS-117 family of ground-based radars." explained Carl Bannar, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Radar Systems business. "This investment allows us to provide new capabilities and enhanced performance for customers while leveraging the field proven architecture and 30 years of operational experience with our family of long range radars."
Lockheed Martin's TPS-77 is the latest configuration of the world's most successful 3-D solid-state radar design. This fixed site or transportable radar provides continuous high-quality 3-D surveillance on aircraft targets at ranges out to more than 250 nautical miles.
Lockheed Martin's TPS-77 shares a high degree of logistics commonality with the FPS-117 (Type 92) radar. Today, 33 TPS-77s and 134 FPS-117 systems are operational in 25 countries. Many have performed for years completely unmanned in remote areas, and in a wide range of operational environments.
Source: Lockheed Martin
More from Digital Battlespace
-
British Army’s ISR commander warns of new challenges facing defence forces
The race between using ISR and resisting the use of it by enemies has accelerated, leading to new methods and systems being required, according to the British Army’s lead on its ISR efforts.
-
Push for greater use of open source data, says senior British officer
The huge amount of open source data available may not carry the weight of secret sources but it does carry substantial value, according to speakers at Defence IQ C4ISR Global conference in London.
-
Jacobs wins MoD cyber-security support contract
The deal with Jacobs will run until November 2027 and will see the company deliver a range of digital and IT specialist professional services to Defence Digital.
-
Orbit upgrades two multi-purpose terminals and carries out land testing
The communications company has upgraded two of its Beyond Line-of-Sight Multi-Purpose Terminals (MBTs) by introducing advancements in satellite communication technology and AI-driven maintenance capabilities.
-
Norway to receive maritime surveillance satellite data from Kongsberg
Norway's Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace has announced that its subsidiary Kongsberg NanoAvionics will produce three satellites and launch them in 2025.
-
First South Korean 425 Project observation satellite launched
In 2015, South Korea named a consortium of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Hanwha Systems, along with Thales Alenia Space providing the SAR payload derived from its HE-R1000 product, as preferred bidder to develop new Korea 425 Project reconnaissance satellites.