Sensor specialist HENSOLDT is supplying six high-performance radars to the German Armed Forces as part of Diehl Defence’s IRIS-T SLM air defence system. As part of an order from Diehl Defence worth a three-digit million euro sum, the first system is to be delivered to the Bundeswehr next year.
HENSOLDT’s TRML-4D multifunction radar offers superior detection capabilities (Photo: HENSOLDT)
Thomas Müller, CEO of HENSOLDT, said: «This order closes a capability gap of the Bundeswehr and at the same time marks the start of the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI). Together with our partners Diehl and Airbus, we are thus strengthening national and alliance defence».
TRML-4D uses the latest digital radar technology. It is capable of detecting, tracking and classifying different types of aerial targets. A focus is on small, fast and low-flying and/or manoeuvring cruise missiles as well as aircraft and helicopters. It ensures the rapid detection and tracking of about 1,500 targets in a radius of up to 250 km/155 miles. Several systems are under contract to equip the Ukrainian air defence.
The joint solutions of Diehl Defence, Airbus and HENSOLDT are fully compatible with NATO’s integrated air defence architecture and have proven their interoperability.
HENSOLDT has decades of experience in air defence radar systems and actively drives the further development of key technologies in this field. In addition to the TRML-4D multifunction radar, the company’s portfolio also includes the Twinvis passive radar, the Spexer product family and radars for securing ship and air traffic. HENSOLDT supplies radars for the German Navy’s new frigates and corvettes, for surveillance of German airspace and for approach control at Bundeswehr airfields, among others.
Sensor specialist HENSOLDT is supplying four of its high-performance radars in record time for Diehl Defence’s IRIS-T SLM air defence system, which is designed to strengthen Ukraine’s defence capability. As part of an order from Diehl Defence worth a two-digit million euro sum, one of the TRML-4D radars has already been delivered, with three more to follow within a few months.
HENSOLDT’s TRML-4D multifunction radar provides superior detection capability (Graphic/Photo: HENSOLDT)
Thomas Müller, CEO of HENSOLDT, said: «The situation in Ukraine requires quick and decisive action. Due to a serial production line and the commitment of our employees, we are able to deliver such systems to protect the population in the shortest possible time».
TRML-4D uses the latest Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar technology with multiple digitally shaped beams. It is capable of detecting, tracking and classifying various types of aerial targets, with a focus on small, fast and low-flying and/or manoeuvring cruise missiles and aircraft, as well as hovering helicopters. It ensures the rapid detection and tracking of some 1,500 targets in a radius of up to 250 km/155 miles.
HENSOLDT has decades of experience with radar systems for air defence and actively drives the further development of key technologies in this field. In addition to the TRML-4D multifunction radar, the company’s portfolio also includes the Twinvis passive radar, the Spexer product family and radars for securing ship and air traffic. HENSOLDT supplies radars for the new frigates and corvettes of the German Navy, for airspace surveillance and for approach control at airfields of the German Armed Forces, among others.
As purely German systems, HENSOLDT’s solutions are not dependent on foreign technology and therefore offer the highest degree of approvability and certifiability for operation in Germany, as well as the highest possible security of supply. At the same time, they are fully compatible with NATO’s integrated air defence architecture.
One of HENSOLDT’s core competences is recognizing threats and protecting end users. At EUROSATORY 2022 in Paris, HENSOLDT presents its broad range of sensor solutions for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations as well as sensors to improve the safety and operational effectiveness.
In Paris, HENSOLDT and IVECO Defence Vehicle are jointly presenting the Military Utility Vehicle (MUV) concept demonstrator (Photo: HENSOLDT AG)
In Paris, HENSOLDT and IVECO Defence Vehicle are jointly presenting the Military Utility Vehicle (MUV) concept demonstrator. For the first time, the MUV will present a modular sensor fusion platform that can be used in the civilian and military sectors for reconnaissance as well as for self-protection and convoy protection. The basis of the MUV concept demonstrator is an all-terrain chassis from IVECO DV with a maximum payload of four tonnes. A sensor suite from HENSOLDT is installed on it, with the See Through Armour System (SETAS), Multifunctional Self-Protection for Vehicles (MUSS), Radio Direction Finder and S3 MIMO systems. All systems are connected by a Central Processing Unit (CIPU), which forms the backbone of the sensor suite.
With TRML-4D, the latest member of its C-Band (NATO G-Band) ground-based air defence radar family, HENSOLDT is showing a state-of-the-art system regarding naval and ground tactical radars. TRML-4D uses the latest Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar technology, with multiple digitally formed beams. It is designed for near- to long-range ground-to-air detection and for weapon assignment. It is capable of detecting, tracking, and classifying various types of air targets, with an emphasis on small, fast, and low-flying and/or manoeuvring cruise missiles and aircraft as well as hovering helicopters. It ensures rapid response detection and tracking of approximately 1,500 targets in a radius of up to 250 km/155.3 miles and at an altitude of up to 30 km/18.6 miles.
HENSOLDT is showcasing a very precise picture of the airspace, created by its passive radar system Twinvis. The system does not emit actively any signal but uses several transmission sources from various locations. It can also interconnect several sensors into one sensor cluster. The transmitters and the Twinvis sensors can be separated from each other at a distance of up to 100 kilometres/62.1 miles. Unlike systems based on passive emitter tracking, requiring aircraft to emit, Twinvis does not depend on any such transmission and does not emit itself, thus being a truly passive system.
Alongside the ground-based radars, HENSOLDT is showing its counter-UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) system Xpeller for 24/7 protection from illicit intrusions of UAVs over critical areas – even at long ranges – offering a low false alarm rate and high probability of interception. The system is highly modular and combines numerous sensors (radar, electro-optics, direction finders) and target neutralization effectors such as jammers and drone catchers through a single Command and Control (C2) system.
At EUROSATORY, HENSOLDT will demonstrate ARGOSIA, which is a range of embedded Maritime Surveillance (SURMAR) and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission systems designed to meet the requirements of air surveillance and intelligence missions. Together with battle-proofed sensors and equipment selected for their reliability and performances, ARGOSIA proposes many system configurations meeting the needs of defence, maritime and overland surveillance, law enforcement, Search & Rescue as well as imagery intelligence (IMINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) missions. This modular and multi-console system consists of the Mission Management System software ARGOSIA, which integrates an advanced digital cartography engine, a sensor-fusion algorithm and powerful decision-support tools that help optimize operator workload.
Sensor solutions provider HENSOLDT has signed a contract worth over a hundred million Euros with mission combat system integrator Thales, to deliver its TRS-4D naval radar to the future multi-purpose frigates F126 of the German Navy.
HENSOLDT and Thales provide the new F126 frigates of the German Navy with a powerful sensor suite (Photo: Damen Naval)
Contracted in 2020, F126 is the latest frigate programme for the German Navy. The F126 class will consist of four ships (with an option for two more ships); the program also includes multiple land-based test and training sites. The first frigate F126 is expected to be delivered to the customer in 2028. The entire programme will run for over ten years.
HENSOLDT’s TRS-4D radar will be installed in its non-rotating version with four fixed-panel arrays. The integration of the radar on the ships and shore installations will be done by Thales to deliver a mission and combat system that complies with the German requirements.
First deliveries are scheduled for 2025. With this system, in combination with other systems and sensors onboard, F126 has the ability to operate in the most complex maritime environments, and therefore contribute internationally to securing safety and stability.
Gerben Edelijn, Vice President Thales Above Water Systems: «We are happy to work together with HENSOLDT and give the Frigates F126 a sensor suite that fully complies with the German requirements. German and Netherlands’ navies and industry have a long tradition of working together with formidable results and we are looking forward to continuing this tradition».
«Our TRS-4D and its high-end components are deployed onboard several German Navy ships offering a high degree of commonalities to the customer», said Markus Rothmaier, Vice President Naval & Ground Radars at HENSOLDT. «I am proud that we are able to offer the German Navy, together with Thales’ sensor technology and combat system, a comprehensive and truly European solution».
Radars of the TRS-4D product family are already in service in different versions onboard German Navy ships, among them the Frigate F125 and the Corvette K130 (second batch) and benefit from continuous product improvements and advantages with regards to spare part management and training. For this reason, TRS-4D NR has been pre-selected by the German Navy.
TRS-4D Fixed Panel
TRS-4D is HENSOLDT’s latest member of the C-Band (NATO G-Band) naval radar family. It is available with a single face rotating antenna and also as a four fixed-panel configuration.
Based on the most advanced Gallium Nitride Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) sensor technology with multiple digitally formed beams, the new generation TRS-4D opens a new dimension for maritime missions.
For threatening targets, the TRS-4D initiates a track within a single scan using its electronic scanning capability. This results in a reliable, immediate target alert.
The system automatically classifies targets as high priority threats and allocates additional radar illumination (Cued Track).
The allocation of radar resources to different scan types provides a versatile combination of volume search, surface search and high-priority tracking.
The radar has sufficient capacity to uphold all functions simultaneously even in stressing situations with high target density and challenging littoral and coastal clutter environments. This ensures platform survivability and mission success.
TRS-4D’s unique concept of simultaneous multi-beams and Doppler processing ensures reliable performance of all operational tasks at a high update rate.
It’s very flexible installation concept enables ships like offshore patrol vessels, corvettes and frigates to exert the different functions of a shipborne surveillance and target acquisition radar, in blue waters and in complex littoral environment with high target densities.
TRS-4D marks an innovative step beyond conventional radar into a «new dimension» of operational capabilities. The outstanding benefits of the new technology are tailor-made for naval customers.
Features
Instrumented range
250 km/155 miles
Azimuth coverage
360° (four fixed panels)
Target detection capability of 0.01 m² Radar Cross-Section (RCS)
Capacity of 1500 targets 3D tracking
Track range performance
fighter aircraft > 110 km/68 miles, small surface target > 14 km/8.7 miles
Sensor solutions provider HENSOLDT is equipping the German-Norwegian submarine project U212 CD with a fully digital sensor suite. The optronics division of HENSOLDT has now received a corresponding order worth over 50 million euros from kta naval systems, a consortium of Kongsberg, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systeme and Atlas Elektronik. The order comprises six optronic systems, consisting of an OMS 150 optronic mast system, an OMS 300 and an i360°OS panoramic surveillance system for each of the six submarines of the Norwegian and German navies. With the twin optronic mast solution, the clients opted for the technological leap from the conventional, traditional direct view of a periscope system to a completely hull-penetrating digital system solution.
HENSOLDT equips the German and Norwegian submarines of the kta consortium with a fully digital sensor suite (Photo: ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems)
HENSOLDT Optronics Managing Director Andreas Hülle says: «This combination provides the new submarines with sensor equipment that combines the highest detection capabilities even in poor visibility with a high degree of automation, thus significantly improving the boats’ ability to act and survive».
The combination of OMS 150 and OMS 300 is being commissioned for the first time for the U212 CD class. The OMS 150, in its multispectral version, will be used as a search and surveillance optronic mast. The OMS 300 stealth optronic mast takes over the so-called «attack» function. With the OMS 300, the developers at HENSOLDT have created an optronic mast that is difficult to detect visually and via radar, which significantly increases the safety of the crews. This multispectral optronic equipment provides the crew with the best visibility in all light and weather conditions, as well as a very wide range of operations. With this order from kta, HENSOLDT Optronics is further expanding its research and development in the field of optronic masts at the Oberkochen site.
Sensor solutions provider HENSOLDT, together with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), is supplying new radars to the German Navy to modernise the sensor technology of the F124 air defence frigates. The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and Operation (BAAINBw) has placed an order worth approximately 200 million euros for the delivery and installation of four sensor systems consisting of radar and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system respectively.
Together with IAI, HENSOLDT is delivering four long-range radars for the German F124 frigates (Photo: HENSOLDT)
With this order the F124 frigate’s radars will be refurbished to overcome obsolescence of electronics components. The order also marks the start of the development of national capabilities in the field of Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD). It includes a shore facility that is a fully functional copy of the ship’s radars. It not only enables training for users and service technicians, but also allows further developments to be tested on land prior to onboard installation.
To this end, HENSOLDT has entered into a strategic cooperation in the field of BMD-capable wide-range radars in S-band with IAI subsidiary ELTA Systems Ltd. This supplies the German customer with a combination of a national partner for certification and long-term support, as well as market-available systems that have been tried and tested in the field.
Previously, the contract for the modernisation of land-based air surveillance in the HADR NF programme, also based on a cooperation with IAI’s ELTA, was awarded to HENSOLDT. The radars used in both projects are largely identical in construction and thus also offer the customer advantages in terms of logistical supply and thus the long-term operation of the systems. In this way, further developments can also be used cross-sectionally and thus be introduced more cost-effectively.
The sensor solutions provider HENSOLDT will equip the Norwegian Coast Guard vessel «Svalbard» with the latest version of its TRS-3D naval radar and MSSR 2000 I IFF System. This is already the second upgrade contract from the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency as HENSOLDT is already under contract to equip the three new Arctic Coast Guard Vessels in the P6615 Program with the upgraded radar and IFF system.
The Norwegian Coast Guard Vessel «Svalbard» will be equipped with the latest version of our TRS-3D naval radar and MSSR 2000 I IFF System (Copyright: NDMA Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency)
Under both contracts worth more than € 27 m HENSOLDT will deliver four TRS-3D radars including the latest solid-state technology and signal processing software and will deliver them from 2021, in parallel to the building program of the new Arctic Coast Guard vessels. The TRS-3D includes a secondary radar MSSR 2000 I for Identification-Friend-or-Foe (IFF). It operates all current IFF modes, including the latest «Mode S/Mode 5 Level ½» standard answering the most recent NATO requirements.
«Our TRS-3D naval radar is an extremely reliable radar, particularly suited for littoral missions», said HENSOLDT-CEO Thomas Müller. «We are taking the upgrade contract of the Norwegian Coast Guard as proof of the customer’s satisfaction with our product and services».
TRS-3D is a three-dimensional multimode naval radar for air and sea surveillance. It includes the ability to correlate plots and tracks of targets with the MSSR 2000 I identification system for automatic identification of vessels and aircraft which is essential to avoid friendly fire and to establish a comprehensive situation picture. It is used for automatically locating and tracking all types of air and sea targets and safe guidance of on-board helicopters. Thanks to its signal processing technologies, the TRS-3D is particularly suited for the early detection of low flying or slow-moving objects under extreme environmental conditions.
More than 50 units of the radar are in operation with naval forces around the world. Among the ships equipped are frigates and corvettes of the German Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutters and the «Squadron 2000» patrol boats of the Finnish Navy.
Hensoldt, the leading German sensor solutions provider, is presenting its passive radar system called «TwInvis» to the public for the first time in live operation during this year’s International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) in Berlin. The new product name «TwInvis» is made up from «twin» + «invisible», as neither TwInvis itself nor the targets to be detected emit any signals on their own, which means that they are «invisible». The TwInvis system, which can be integrated into an all-terrain vehicle or a van, does not emit its own signals to monitor air traffic, but simply «passively» analyses the echoes of signals from radio or TV stations.
Hensoldt presents «TwInvis» Passive Radar for the first Time in live Operation
«Our newly developed, highly sensitive digital receivers now make it possible for a single TwInvis system to monitor up to 200 aircraft in 3D within a radius of 250 kilometres/155 miles. This was unthinkable even just a few years ago», said Hensoldt CEO Thomas Müller. «This will open up completely new options for application in such fields as air defence, the protection of large events or air traffic control».
Working as mere receivers, passive radar systems detect aircraft by analysing the signals that they reflect from existing third-party emissions. Hensoldt’s TwInvis system excels with a very precise picture of the airspace covered, which is obtained by simultaneously analysing a large number of frequency bands. For example, up to 16 FM transmitters (analogue radio) plus 5 frequencies used by several DAB and DAB+ transmitters (digital radio) as well as DVB-T and DVB-T2 (digital, terrestrial television) can be simultaneously analysed for the first time. Furthermore, Hensoldt’s new generation of software will provide unprecedented performance in terms of range and precision of detection.
In civil applications, passive radar systems make cost-effective air traffic control possible without any additional emissions and without using transmission frequencies, which are in short supply. In military applications, the system enables wide-area surveillance using networked receivers, while offering the advantage that passive radar systems cannot be located by the enemy and are very hard to jam. Moreover, no agreement is required with any other public authority, as there is no radiation, which allows the system to be quickly ready for deployment in new locations and to also be used in urban areas. This results in another advantage of the new technology: the system can be used in places where coverage was previously inadequate, in particular/for example, in mountainous regions.
TwInvis has already shown what it can do in several demonstrations to military customers, air traffic control organisations and other interested parties. Two TwInvis demonstrators have already been delivered to potential customers in Europe.
