Canadian subs to receive Kelvin Hughes' SharpEye radars

April 4 (UPI) -- Canada's navy is procuring two SharpEye radar systems from Kelvin Hughes to enhance navigation capabilities for its Victoria-class submarines.

Once delivered, the systems will be installed on two vessels currently equipped with Kelvin Hughes' 1007 radar. The new solution features an I-Band transceiver, which uses a ship's existing bulkhead infrastructure and external antenna, rotational drive and waveguide connections to provide information.

According to the manufacturer, the SharpEye will allow Canadian submarine operators to navigate more freely during missions. Typically, submarines only use radars to navigate in and out of port. But with a SharpEye system, Kelvin Hughes says users can improve their ability to remain undetected during military operations.

"This upgrade for the Royal Canadian Navy is a further example of the growing interest in our SharpEye downmast submarine variant and highlights the need for submarines to be equipped with modern high performance radar rather than the legacy magnetron systems that many of them are still using," Kelvin Hughes vice president Adrian Pilbeam said in a press release.

Kelvin Hughes began selling SharpEye Systems in 2006. 25 naval forces have since become customers.

Canada began operating Victoria-class submarines after purchasing four of the vessels from Britain in February 2015. The ships can be used to conduct surveillance, support maritime law enforcement operations, and a range of other operations.