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Brazil orders weather radars

GENOA, Italy, April 12 (UPI) -- High-powered S-Band meteorological radar systems for use in severe weather regions have been ordered by the Brazilian government.

The METEOR 1600S radars by Italy's Selex ES will support the Brazilian Centre for Monitoring and Warnings of Natural Disasters to establish an effective monitoring and early warning system for potential natural disasters.

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Procurement of the radars is "an important breakthrough in a major Brazilian government project to upgrade the response capability in face of extreme weather events," said Carlos Nobre, secretary of Policies and Programs for Research and Development of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The METEOR 1600S uses an innovative dual polarization method to precisely categorize different types of condensation of atmospheric water vapor even at long distance.

Nobre said eight of the nine systems ordered will be installed in areas subject to disasters caused by the rain. The ninth will be placed in a semi-arid area to produce information for agriculture and water resource management.

Selex said the contract is worth $35.3 million and was awarded to its German subsidiary SELEX Systems Integration GmbH and its Brazilian partner Engeletrica Sul.

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