September 2009 - terma

SCANTER RADARDetection of Pirates withTerma SCANTER RadarPiracy is becoming an increasinglymajor problem, especially in thewaters surrounding the Horn ofAfrica. Pirates in small boatsapproach large merchant vessels bysneaking up from behind. From theside of the ship, boarding and takingthe unarmed crew hostage isrelatively easy.In 2008-09, the Royal Danish Navy’ssupport ship ABSALON led theCombined Task Force 150 whilecarrying several pieces of Termaequipment. The main purpose of TaskForce 150 was Maritime InterdictionOperations (MIO),which is control ofgoods transported inthe operation area. The missiontasks also included Maritime SecurityOperations (MSO), which is protectionof ships and installations in theoperation area, Theatre SecurityCooperation (TSC), which is supportto weak nations in the region, andSearch and Rescue missions (SAR).You do not know what you do notsee, but experience has proventhat the high quality SCANTERradars that ABSALON carriesenable the crew to detect and trackall small vessels in the area aroundown ship, including those very smallvessels used by pirates.In addition to the traditional marineradar capabilities, the SCANTERprovides much higher sensitivity,better resolution and advancedclutter processing techniques.This enables detection of very smalltargets in virtually any weathercondition, from very short distancesand to the radar horizon. Furthermore,adaptation to the weather and tochanges in propagation, including thevery special Middle East conditions, isfully automatic in range and azimuth.Terma takes pride in the fact that ourequipment makes it difficult for thepirates to operate in areas where ourradars are part of the joinedinternational effort. The SCANTERradar is proven to increase situationalawareness onboard naval vessels.There is a potential for use of thetechnology onboard trade vessels toprovide early warning to the crew andincrease the time available for help toarrive from naval forces.The sooner a potential threat isdiscovered, the easier it is to respondto that threat rapidly and efficiently.TERMA UPDATE . SEPTEMBER 2009 9