Thales unveils radar for littoral areas

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PARIS, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- A new radar electronic support measures system for ships operating in littoral waters has been unveiled by Thales UK.

The system, named VIGILE DPX , uses a wideband digital receiver that directly and instantly samples the full bandwidth of the radar RF spectrum to overcome radar difficulties close to shore that are caused by reflections from landmass and interference from the greater density of radar traffic.

"VIGILE DPX is a ground-breaking solution, delivering a step change in R-ESM capability," said Phil Naybour, head of Thales UK's naval business. "The ability to continue to operate, even in the presence of interferers is critical to any naval force, increasingly so with the trend toward littoral operations.

"Thales is proud to continue to provide cutting edge technology to the (British) Royal Navy in the U.K. and excited to see the release of this export variant, VIGILE DPX."

VIGILE DPX is a software-defined system that uses commercial off-the-shelf technologies to allow reception and processing of threat signals -- despite interfering radar signals -- without signal degradation. Thales said it is low-cost and upgradable.

The system unveiled to the public at the Euronaval exhibition in France is already being used by British navy.