Cassidian’s newly developed TRS-4D naval radar has successfully passed the German procurement authority’s first factory acceptance tests, paving the way for the radar to be installed on the German Navy’s F125 class frigates. The system will provide the frigates with advanced reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities and improve the survivability of the vessels.

TRS-4D enables ships ranging from patrol vessels to frigates to carry out the various detection tasks required of ship-borne, medium-range radar systems both in the open sea as well as in complex coastal zones with a high target density. According to Cassidian, compared to conventional radars, this more accurate, faster system now tackles a wider-than-ever scope of targets, such as for protection against asymmetric attacks.

The first radar unit will equip a land-based system in Wilhelmshaven, and is scheduled for delivery in February. The first TRS-4D for the Baden-Württemberg lead ship will be delivered in August. The four F125 frigates of the Baden-Württemberg class should replace the F122 Bremen class ships from 2016.

TRS-4D is the first surveillance radar to make full use of the advantages of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology, which is based on multiple independent emitters. This results in a detection performance that is ‘unprecedented worldwide’. The core element of AESA technology as it is used here is a multitude of Cassidian-made transmit and receive modules based on the latest gallium nitride (GaN) technology. GaN has unique electronic features such as high power efficiency, and also allows for very efficient industrial production processes.