Our newly developed JORN hardware is designed for manufacture and exceeding performance expectations. This hardware is now entering pre-production in preparation for site trials in mid-2022.
The Surveillance team recently replaced 500kg of electronics, power supplies, brackets and supports and installed prototype Phase 6 kit – the first time this new upgraded equipment has been installed and operable at a JORN radar site.
“The success of this installation is clear evidence of the hard work undertaken by our Surveillance team in our Hardware Integration Facility to deliver this world-leading capability,” said Richard Udall, BAESA’s JORN Program Director.
Dr Gordon Frazer, an Over-The-Horizon-Radar (OTHR) advisor to BAE Systems Australia, says the recent installation was the first use of the world's most advanced and high-performance High Frequency receiver and he was impressed by the quality of data it was producing.
“This is also the first demonstration of a Common Aperture capable receiver on the JORN antenna system, a critical step for Phase 6,” said Dr Frazer, Director of FrazerLab.
“I have been methodically working through the new Phase 6 equipment in the Hardware Integration Facility. I see performance levels in key areas beyond any previous OTHR.”
Delivery of the Phase 6 upgrade will involve more than $250 million of engineering design, development and validation effort.