Airbus DS Electronics and Border Security (EBS) is replacing 30-year-old military ATC radars at German airfields with its ASR (Aerodrome Surveillance Radar) for approach control and wide-area surveillance. The company has already handed over four of 20 ASR systems planned under a modernization program.

The ASR consists of a primary radar based on a semiconductor transmitter and special signal processing technology for wide-area surveillance, EBS said. This is combined with the MSSR 2000I mode S-based secondary surveillance radar, which identifies and tracks aircraft by querying transponders and receiving automatic replies. The ASR radars will be used for approach control at the airfields and for airspace surveillance within a radius of 60 nm (110 km) to safely coordinate military and civilian air traffic.

The ASR-S radar is already in service at German air force bases in Laupheim, Büchel and Wittmund. EBS said it handed over a fourth system—the first delivered to the German army—to the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 at Niederstetten Army Airfield.

“ASR offers extraordinary performance, as proven in an extensive test phase,” said Thomas Müller, CEO of Airbus DS EBS. “In particular, the sophisticated signal processing guarantees reliable and exact target tracking even under difficult environmental conditions.”

EBS, based in Taufkirchen, Germany, near Munich, is currently a 100 percent subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space. In March, the Airbus Group signed a share purchase agreement with the U.S. investment company KKR to transfer ownership of initially 74.9 percent of EBS shares to KKR. The parties expect that the $1.2 billion transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, will close in the first quarter next year. The company thereafter will be named “Hensoldt” after German optics pioneer Moritz Carl Hensoldt.