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Aviation History
1993
1993 - 2032.PDF
BATTLEFIELD SURVEILLANCE 150km 450km Peacetime deployment: In the case of a 50min flight along the border, the observation area covered is about 450km long by 150km deep Operating in the datalink mode, the basic system consists of two Cougar helicopters and a ground station. The latter is capable of being airlifted by a Transall C.160 transport aircraft. The two operating modes are not mutu ally exclusive and could turn out to be complementary, says Lavaine. A mission initially intended to be carried out auton omously could shift to exploiting the datalink if required. Similarly, a mission pencilled in as requiring the ground station could revert to the autonomous mode if the tactical situation is suitable. The advantage of operating the Horizon using the datalink to the ground station is that it allows intelligence officers lo cated on the ground to review radar data in near real time. Although, as with autonomous operations, an initial situa tion assessment is made by the operator on board, specialists on the ground are also provided with radar data. Utilisation of the datalink mode also allows the Horizon to form one sensor element of a larger surveillance network. The system is intended to be interoper able — with the USAF/US Army Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) system, for instance. DATALINK RANGE The secure datalink has a range of up to 150km. Information received on board the helicopter is transmitted to the ground operating station via a truck-mounted antenna. The truck can be remotely sited, relatively speaking, to the ground station, using a cable link to relay the radar information. This reduces the ground unit's vulnerability to enemy action based on communications intelligence. If two Cougars are aloft at the same time, 200km apart, and the 150km-range Target radar is in operation, then the control station, capable of processing data from several platforms at once, can scan an area about 450km wide and 100km deep, equivalent to an army corps- France's new Horizon was sired by the Orchide* scale theatre of oper ation encompassing several divisions. Utilising a heli copter, as opposed to a fixed-wing aircraft, such as the Grum man E-8C JSTARS, provides operational flexibility at the ex pense of range, both of the platform and the radar system. The helicopter can also be deployed closer to the forward edge of battle, in part be cause it is a less ex pensive asset, and because, if necessary, ^^^ I it can make use of ^r terrain masking to avoid threats. Because the French army's requirement is primarily to detect moving objects, a moving-target indica tor (MTI) radar was preferred to the syn thetic-aperture radar (SAR), which is more commonly used for ground mapping. The MTI radar operates in the Dop- pler mode, where all objects, even those moving at slow speed, are detected, classified and dis played on the opera tor's console. The radar operates by gateing out the returns of objects within a particular speed range, using Doppler shift — in the case of the MTI, these are stationary objects. The system's radar effectively provides a dynamic picture of the theatre of operation. The radar has a low pulse-repeti tion frequency (PRF), providing good range discrim ination. Signal processing is used to improve deter- minination of target velocity, for which higher PRFs are better suited. Given the high target value of the Horizon, the system has been designed from the outset to be operated in both a hostile electronic- warfare and con- 150km 500km ventional-threat environment. The helicopter is equipped with infra red (IR) decoys to counter IR-seeker equipped surface-to-air and air-to-air mis siles. In countering potential radar jam ming, passive countermeasures, including frequency agility and pulse compression, allowing low peak-power level emissions, have been adopted. Using the latest model of Lotar's Target radar, the Horizon can be used to detect vehicles up to 150km range, depending on height. Accuracy is compatible with MLRS targeting. The French army has ordered two complete long-range systems — four Eu- rocopter Cougar military helicopters equipped with Target radars and two ground stations. The Horizon is also being evaluated by a NATO task force, along with the USA's JSTARS and other systems, to meet a potential requirement for a NATO surveil lance system. Outside Europe, it has attracted the attention of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Middle East and South-East Asian countries. El Aircraft flying racecourse pattern Crisis-situation deployment: The two Horizon platforms fly racecourse patterns on either side of ground receiving station Deployment for border observation FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 18 - 24 August, 1993 31
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