Following the award of a £7 million contract, BAE Systems are on task to upgrade four Watchman radars, continuing the critical support provided to the UK Ministry of Defence for surveillance and Air Traffic Control (ATC).

Using the latest technology found on BAE Systems’ own Sampson, Artisan and Commander Radars, the 1980s designed Watchman ATC radar will benefit from a technology upgrade which will extend its life. The contract was awarded under the Marshall programme which is led by Aquila, a joint venture between Thales UK and NATS to provide air traffic management services at Ministry of Defence operated airfields in the UK and abroad over the next 22 years.

Les Gregory, Product and Training Services Director for BAE Systems Maritime Services said: “This is an important contract because it demonstrates the benefit of taking a through-life service view.  Using technology from our newest radars, we will extend the life and improve the performance of an essential asset for the Ministry of Defence for at least a further 20 years.”

With a total of 100 systems in service across over 40 locations, Watchman takes its place as BAE Systems’ best-selling radar.  By upgrading this critical military asset with new transmitters and new signal processing technology found on BAE Systems’ newest radars, operators will benefit from increased performance for surveillance and Air Traffic Control. The upgraded Watchman will make future maintenance and service operations easier. Self-contained with the current system, the upgrade is compact, reducing the equipment footprint and the number of spares required by 80%.

In service for over 30 years, Watchman’s flexible and rapid deployment, and installation, continues to attract military customers around the world.  The radar is capable of accurately determining the range, direction, and speed of objects, up to 222 km away.

Press release and picture: BAE Systems