Selex radar set for South Korean army

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SEOUL, June 24 (UPI) -- Selex Galileo Inc. has won a contract to deliver its Seaspray 7500E active electronically scanned array radar to the South Korean army.

Under the contract, awarded by Worldwide Aeros Corp., the ASEA radar will be installed in the Aeros tethered helium-filled Aerostat balloon used for day and night surveillance in conflict areas and for general border security.

The 7500E ASEA radar provides a long-range ground moving target indication capability for border surveillance in all weather conditions and for 24-hour wide-area surveillance. The Seaspray radar can remain deployed on Aerostat balloons for several weeks.

The Seaspray radar also has been selected by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard, a statement from Selex Galileo said.

Selex Galileo Inc. has headquarters in Arlington, Va., and is part of Selex Galileo, a division of the Italian company Finmeccanica.

Worldwide Aeros Corp., founded in 1987 and with headquarters in Montebello, Calif., specializes in the manufacturing of hybrid airships. The company's main markets are governments, militaries and cargo transportation businesses. The airships are used for surveillance operations, televised broadcasting, the advertizing of products and services as well as passenger travel.

Selex also recently won contracts in Finland and Saudi Arabia.

Selex will deliver its PicoSAR and ESCAN radar technologies for joint research, development and demonstration use at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. KACST is an independent scientific organization set up by the Saudi Arabian government in 1977.

Selex also will provide training to KACST in the use of its radar systems.

In Finland, the Seaspray 5000E ASEA radar will be installed on twin turbo-prop Dornier 228 maritime patrol aircraft operated by the Finnish Border Guard for sea rescue work and anti-drug smuggling operations.

The Finnish Border Guard uses the Seaspray 2000 maritime surveillance radar for civilian and paramilitary applications such as border protection, Selex said.

The Seaspray 5000E is the smallest of the Seaspray radar systems, weighing around 100 pounds. It's a multi-mode surveillance radar appropriate for light naval helicopters and twin turbo-prop surveillance aircraft such as the Dornier 228, Selex said. The system has been used as part of upgrades to Sea King helicopters made by Sikorsky.

At the Paris Air Show this week, Selex Galileo unveiled what it said is a "new-look" extended-range Falco Evo unmanned air vehicle. The Evo, with a 41-foot wingspan and a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds, will have its maiden flight in early 2012.

"The Falco Evo will achieve a longer endurance at higher altitude and with a greater payload," Selex Galileo Chief Executive Fabrizio Giulianini said.

The Evo will fly for up to 18 hours at an altitude of 20,000 feet. Equipment will include an electro-optical/infrared camera, a PicoSAR synthetic aperture radar sensor, and Selex Galileo's wingtip-mounted Sage electronic support measures/electronic intelligence suite.

Selex is in "final negotiations" with the Italian military and another potential customer," Giulianini said.