Thales‘s Active Phased Array Radar (APAR) multifunction system has completed its first sea acceptance test (SAT) aboard the Royal Danish Navy’s second Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate, HDMS Peter Willemoes (F362).
Conducted in cooperation with the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization, the first SAT trials were carried over one week.
Thales Nederland CEO Gerben Edelijn said: "This SAT demonstrates our capability to maintain the highest possible level of product quality over a long period of time."
The system is set to undergo harbour acceptance trials later this year to validate the ship’s anti-air warfare and fire-control capabilities, while the programme is likely to end in early 2014.
In December 2006, the Royal Danish Navy contracted Thales to deliver three APAR systems for installation on its new Iver Huitfeldt-class frigates.
All systems were delivered and installed aboard the three frigates in 2011and 2012, following completion of factory acceptance tests carried out between January 2011 and 2012.
Incorporating technologies that meet the Canadian Surface Combatant programme’s requirements, the multi-function radar can automatically detect and track low altitude targets and air targets, along with the missile guidance support and guides several missiles simultaneously to different threats.
The APAR antenna features four arrays, which when combined with more than T/R modules produce narrow beams that can be pointed in any direction within a cone of 120° in azimuth and 85° in elevation.
Designed to tackle the terminal guidance requirements of standard missile 2 (SM-2) and evolved Sea Sparrow missiles (ESSM), the radar will help collect specific information about detected targets in the most adverse conditions.
The APAR system is currently operational on the four De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy, as well as on the three German Navy’s Sachsen-class frigates.
Odense Steel Shipyard-built Ivar Huitfeldt-class frigates are 138.9m-long and will provide the Danish Navy with the capability to conduct a variety of national and international defence and security missions.
Image: HDMS Iver Huitfeldt (F361) ship equipped with Thales’s APAR. Photo: courtesy of Thales Group.
