According to DeTect, a Panama City, Fla. manufacturer of bird detection radar, its system is ready for operational use. FAA statements about bird radars not being ready for operational use and needing years more research following the US Airways A320 ditching in the Hudson River “are simply not correct,” said DeTect general manager and CEO Gary Andrews. “No one from the FAA has ever seen one of our Merlin systems in operation, to my knowledge.” According to DeTect, more than 40 of its Merlin Avian Radar Systems are operating worldwide. Systems are installed at military and commercial airports and at space launch facilities and offer real-time bird activity display for airfield managers, bird-control staff and air traffic controllers. “The Merlin technology is proven and can be integrated today into commercial airport operations to better protect aircraft, pilots and the flying public,” Andrews said.