SharpEye radar for Pakistan submarines

Kelvin Hughes will supply the I-band SharpEye Doppler submarine radar system as part of a mid-life upgrade programme for the Pakistan Navy's Agosta 90B class submarines. The company announced the contract on 21 February.

Kelvin Hughes will work with lead contractor STM on the programme, with the first system set for delivery in 2018.

Traditionally, submarines only tend to use radar for navigation when entering or leaving port, because high-power RF transmissions can compromise their ability to remain undetected when used in more open waters. However, with its low power, pulse Doppler transmission technology, SharpEye can provide a reduced probability of intercept which significantly lowers the risk of the submarine being detected but without compromising the target detection performance of the radar.

The SharpEye transceiver can be located within the pressure hull, making use of the existing bulkhead infrastructure, antenna rotational drive and waveguide connections.

The radar uses Doppler processing to detect targets at long range, including small, low radar cross section targets in adverse weather conditions. A series of electronic filters enables the radar to distinguish between targets of interest and unwanted sea and rain clutter.

Barry Jones, regional sales manager for Kelvin Hughes, said: 'We are delighted that the Pakistan Navy, a respected and long-standing customer of Kelvin Hughes, has chosen to take advantage of the performance and reliability benefits that our innovative SharpEye radar technology can now bring to submarine platforms. We're looking forward to working with our project partner STM to jointly deliver SharpEye capability to the Navy and [Agosta 90B] class submarines.'