BREMEN, Germany, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- New radar for the German Navy's F125-class frigates proved its precision in detecting small targets in recent testing, manufacturer Cassidian reports.
Testing of the TRS-4D radar was conducted in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and during factory acceptance trails recently and detected unmanned aerial vehicles, guided missiles and submarine periscopes.
"The new radar's system concept allows the advantages of AESA technology (Active Electronically Scanned Array) to also be fully exploited for small and medium-sized ships, for the first time," Cassidian said. "Thanks to the use of multiple independent emitters in its antenna, this system is more accurate and faster than conventional radars, allowing it to tackle a wider-than-ever range of targets, e.g. for protection against asymmetric attacks.
"The system architecture is designed so that the radar system's capabilities can easily be extended through software updates."
The Cassidian TRS-4D will be deployed in a version with four fixed arrays, which are able to track individual targets more accurately than mechanically rotating antennas.
Germany's F125 frigates of the "Baden-Wurttemberg" class will replace the German Navy's F122 Bremen-class ships in 2016.
