The French HORIZON Onboard Surveillance System in the Fjords of Norway
Farnborough, 22 July 2002
The NATO STRONG RESOLVE military exercise took place in Norway from March 1st to 15th. Approximately 19,000 people, 150 aircraft, and 50 ships took place in the maneuvers in both land and sea regions of the Norwegian territory.
The French HORIZON onboard surveillance system, which officially entered service in the 1st Helicopter Combat Regiment of Phalsbourg on March 1st, participated in the exercise. Other participating surveillance systems were the American JSTARS airplane, the Canadian radar satellite RADARSAT, and ground operating systems run by many different NATO member countries.
The different systems were inter-connected via surveillance networks implemented by NC3A (NATO Command, Control & Consulting Agency). The networks were linked to the operational command centers, who assigned the tasks to the different surveillance systems according to the mission requirements.
Horizon performed an average of one mission per day, and was the most frequently used MTI (Moving Target Indicator) information supplier during the exercise. The detection and localization of the targets - in particular of helicopters - and also their pursuit over time proved to be reliable and precise with both sea and land backgrounds. It was also possible to detect and monitor the ships, so that the deployed forces could obtain real-time intelligence information that was representative of the inter-army enemy maneuvers.
The following made these impressive results possible:
* The flexibility of HORIZON, so that it could accept missions on short notice.
* The helicopter flight profile, which allows the system to remain almost completely stable relative to the observed area. This reduces the risk of overlapping the unobservable areas, and it also facilitates operations and interpretations, since the form of the observed area is conserved.
* The capability to make observations during turns, so that the continuity of the radar detection is insured.
* The ability to operate in bad weather, including icing conditions. Only the presence of cumulonimbus clouds led to missions being postponed.
The Horizon program, which has included the manufacturing of 4 observation helicopters and two ground stations, was directed by Eurocopter, who was the integrator and industrial architect. THALES Airborne systems and the Defense Electronics division of EADS also participated in the program.
During the entire exercise, it was the French Army that implemented and provided on-site support for HORIZON. The system demonstrated its impressive operational characteristics, and also confirmed the quality performances that it had provided during the TRIDENT operation in Macedonia in 1999. The HORIZON is one of the most high-performance systems in the world for the real-time supplying of ground and low-altitude surveillance information.
Eurocopter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company). With revenues amounting to 30.8 billion Euro and a workforce of 100,000, EADS is the largest European aerospace company and No. 2 worldwide. It is active in the sectors of commercial aircraft, helicopters, space, military transport and combat aircraft as well as defence technology and services.
For more detailed information, please contact:
Jean-Louis ESPES
Tel: +33(0) 4 42 85 95 55
Fax: +33(0) 4 42 85 95 64
Eurocopter
Aéroport International Marseille Provence
13725 Marignane Cedex - France -
Christina GOTZHEIN
Tel: +49(0) 89 60 00 64 88
Fax: +49(0) 89 60 00 44 37
Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
D-81663 Munich - Germany
Chantal LINARES
Tel: +33(0) 4 42 85 60 51
Fax: +33(0) 4 42 85 95 64
Eurocopter
Aéroport International Marseille Provence
13725 Marignane Cedex - France
Christoph MÜLLER
Tel: +49(0) 906 71 45 65
Fax: +49(0) 906 71 46 74
Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
D-86607 Donauwörth - Germany
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