Selex ES, a Finmeccanica company, has been awarded a contract by the Austrian Ministry of Defence (Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung und Sport – BMLVS), to provide a RAT31DL/M deployable air defence radar system and the relevant logistic support, with the contract including an option for a further radar system of the same kind.

The system will enter into operation in 2016.

The RAT31DL/M system going to be provided will also include a 15 metre-high transportable and self-mounting tower. The new system will refresh Austria’s fleet of existing radars which were provided by Selex ES during the 80s, the company supplying five RAT 31 S medium range radars in both fixed and mobile configurations.

Selex ES is at the forefront of long-range radar technology. RAT31, a proven, state-of the art, 3D long range family of radar systems, is available in fixed FADR (Fixed Air Defence Radar) and mobile DADR (Deployable Air Defence Radar) configurations.

The RAT31 DL/M DADR, the most recent addition to the RAT31 family, has already been sold to the Italian Air Force and to the German Air Force. The system, designed for a rapid and simple deployment also on an unprepared terrain, is easy to transport, needing only a single vehicle to carry the complete radar system (plus one for the C2 shelter). The system’s configuration allows for a high degree of mobility and fast deployment/re-deployment which is carried out autonomously, without external towers or other on-site technical support. Fitted with its own equipment and able to be entirely remotely controlled, the radar system can be self-sufficient for a long period of time.