Avian radar spreads its wings

Neelam Mathews

June 14, 2014

Publication:

Jane's Airport Review

New Delhi-based OIS-AT reports that its 3-D bird detection radar has elicited interest from undisclosed Asian countries, after it underwent trials with the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The IAF has a requirement for 45 units. In launching a global tender in 2013, it estimated that bird strikes are responsible for around 10% of accidents to its airframes, which pose a particular concern for low-altitude training exercises.

The OIS-AT radar can be deployed at airports, wind farms, military artillery sites, and for bird migratory studies. The system can detect up to 1,000 objects simultaneously at an altitude of 10,000 ft and a maximum range of 11 km, and provides 360-degree azimuth coverage with sector blanking option.

Images can be loaded on a website of the customer's choice and are available for transmission to the airport control tower.

1565893OIS reports interest from unnamed Asian countries in its bird detection radar, after it underwent trials with the Indian Air Force. (OIS)

The system can operate in monopulse mode and uses advanced tracking algorithms, as well as multi-beam scanning. It can also be adapted for multiple purposes, said Sanjay Bhandari, OIS-AT founder, chairman, and managing director. This means that a single radar can cover an entire airport, instead of one radar per runway for 2-D radars.

OIS-AT insists its solution is the only truly 3-D bird detection radar. Speaking to IHS Jane's , Bhandari said that other solutions, "loosely described as two and a half D radars, [are] a combination of two 2-D radars working in tandem". As such, these systems do not give accurate 3-D information (precise data on the height of the avian targets) "over 360-degree of airport airspace being monitored", he added.

OIS is also leveraging its experience in developing the avian radar to develop further products "such as a foliage radar".

The 3-D radar exceeds FAA guidelines, said OIS-AT in a statement, adding that the radar can be supplied in transportable or fixed configuration to meet airport requirements. The systems are manufactured at the company's facility near New Delhi. "Very few components are imported," said Bhandari.The system features wide-beam coverage that detects and provides real-time alerts of hazardous bird activity from aircraft flight operational altitudes to the ground level.