Hensoldt has confirmed the initial operational capability of a new Air Traffic Control (ATC) sensor for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
The sensor is part of an Australian Ministry of Defence framework agreement to improve coordination and situational awareness across Canberra’s military installations and support the government’s National Air Traffic Management Surveillance Infrastructure Plan.
Throughout the effort, nine Fixed Defence ATC Surveillance Sensors will be integrated in various locations alongside three Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast ground stations at RAAF Base Darwin, RAAF Base Townsville, and Army Aviation Center Oakey.
Each ATC will incorporate a tower, corresponding software and hardware, radomes, and electronic solutions.
Additional capabilities to be provided by the project include spares, publications, and an Operational Maintenance Trainer at RAAF Amberley.
Once operational, the ATCs and associated elements will take the role of RAAF’s aging air traffic systems and Alenia surveillance sensors.
Hensoldt wrote that the new ATC will now be installed in Oakey, with additional sites to follow later this year until the initiative’s completion in September 2025.
“HENSOLDT Australia is delighted by the achievement of this important milestone in the delivery of this critical air surveillance capability to Defence,” Hensoldt Australia Managing Director Mark Novak stated.
“This milestone represents the culmination of significant effort on the part of the Commonwealth and HENSOLDT teams to this point and we look forward to delivering the remainder of the capability over the coming months.”
Recent Sensor Works
Hensoldt announced in June the delivery of additional sensor suites for Ukrainian Armed Forces helicopters as Kyiv continuously amplifies its defenses against Russian missiles.
One month earlier, the company signed a contract to equip the UK Royal Navy’s fleet solid support vessels with surveillance and navigation systems.
In January 2023, Berlin selected Hensoldt to outfit the German military’s existing Eurodrones with signals intelligence technology.