DSEI 2013: Kelvin Hughes and SeaCross showcase small boat radar
Until now, maritime law enforcement, military and naval users, have had to use leisure boat radars in the absence of a professional radar alternative. Kelvin Hughes is working with SeaCross Marine AB – another navigation specialist – to provide further surveillance solutions for small boats. The SharpEye radar is able to detect the smallest of targets in clutter; targets moving at speed that could be described as agile; and asymmetric threats.
SeaCross has developed a customisable display specially designed for high-speed navigation in littoral and coastal waters. The display and software solution for small boats has numerous special features, notably night vision operation, which allows the user to engage the system in dark conditions.
Russell Gould, chief executive of Kelvin Hughes, said: “The SVC small boat radar is a very special piece of equipment. Incorporating many of the elements of the SharpEye system (right) used on naval platforms. The all-weather radome X-Band radar will, for the first time, bring professional radar performance to the smaller vessel and significantly increase the capability of police and patrol boats, which often need to detect small targets at greater ranges or in adverse weather conditions.”
Kelvin Hughes is seeing a lot of interest in the radome radar, with requests for trial and test opportunities from all over the world, as the industry starts to catch on to this new technology. Its unique features set it apart from every radar that has come before it, with its lightweight, high-performance and durable design.
Kelvin Hughes will also be showing the SeaCross Marine display option for SCV at this year’s DSEI. The display was designed with special forces in mind and when combined with SCV, provides the optimum solution for those vessels requiring more from their radar.
Harald Nilsonne, managing director of SeaCross, said: “Not only can our combined offering give small boat users improved situational awareness; it also addresses some of the more specific issues of operation – such as using a navigation system at high speed in the dark. The combination of Kelvin Hughes’ SharpEye radar and SeaCross’ display software is giving small craft a much higher level of navigation capability.”
The SharpEye SCV radome is designed for easy installation on radar arches and masts. It has a flexible interface making it possible for the core high performance element of the radar system, the transceiver, to interface with other radar displays. The company offers a SeaCross Marine 15” or 12” fully waterproof and ruggedised console display with a state-of-the-art solid state ruggedised processor.
SharpEye SCV provides a robust and reliable solution to improve situational awareness for small watercraft, enabling autonomous vessel operation with informed real-time and local tactical decision making.
A key feature of the technology is the use of pulse compression and Doppler processing to provide superior target detection. The solid state electronics design requires no routine maintenance and, unlike most small boat radars, has no components that degrade with time i.e. a magnetron – so high performance is maintained throughout the long life of the unit.
The SharpEye technology provides low peak power of the transmission – up to 80W –compared to anything up to 10kW from an equivalent magnetron radar. This low power, coupled with a precise use of frequency, makes it very difficult for ESM equipment to detect the transmission. The user can also select individual transmit frequencies, power modes and configure azimuth sector blanking to further improve the covert characteristics of the device.
