The new airport radars at Pardubice Military Airport
2. 10. 2017
At the Pardubice Military Airport, the first of the four RPL-2000 radar sets was installed. All four sets are part of the contract between Ministry of Defence of Czech Republic and the Czech company ELDIS Pardubice, which was signed in 2016. At present, the radar systems in Pardubice are going through a half-year test run and they should replace the original TESLA radars from the 1970’s.
The basis of the set delivered to the Army of Czech Republic is Primary Surveillance Radar RL-2000. This radar complies and exceeds the requirements and recommendations of international radar standards. Compared to the previous systems, it is fully solid state, including the transmitting modules. Thanks to this, the radar is significantly more reliable and provides much more precise and higher quality information regarding the movements in the controlled airspace, including the detection of dangerous weather formations.
Another part of the set is the Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar MSSR-1, allowing high-precision sight of the targets. The radar is able to work in all civil and military modes – i.e. mode 1, 2, 3/A, C and also mode S up to level 5. There is also implemented the ADS-B receiver to provide the most complex data. ELDIS Pardubice company is one of few companies in the world, and the only one in Europe, who develops and produces the modern Precision Approach Radars, which use the AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) technology, which was the basic requirement of the Czech Army. The company could offer the PAR-E system, which does not use any mechanical moving parts, which results in much higher reliability.
The Minister of Defence Martin Stropnicky came to see how new radar systems operate in Pardubice. “In September 2016, the Ministry of Defence and the Czech company ELDIS Pardubice signed a contract worth 651 million crowns for the delivery of four RPL-2000 airport radar sets,” said the Minister of Defence Martin Stropnicky at Pardubice airport. He also added that, based on this contract, the Air Forces of the Czech Army will receive new modern sets of airport radars, where every set includes primary surveillance radar, secondary surveillance radar and a precision approach radar.
For air traffic controllers at the airport, the radar system is an absolutely crucial element for air traffic monitoring and management and, above all, a basic prerequisite defining overall air traffic safety. “The interconnection between new radars and civil air traffic management systems will have a direct impact on improving civil aviation safety and increasing the capacity of Czech airspace,” informed Lieutenant Colonel Ivo Stastny, Commander of Administration at Pardubice Airport.
“The Air Forces of Czech Army acquire modern technology, which fully meets the latest ICAO and EUROCONTROL international standards. This will increase the air traffic safety, enhance combat capabilities. It has also impact on extending the range and capability to share the information between individual air force entities, which are assuring different types of missions and combat operations,” added Brigadier General Petr Hromek.
The first set of RPL-2000 was installed at Pardubice Airport and successfully passed the testing and certification process according to the requirements of the MoD, including the military tests. The remaining three sets for air bases in Prague-Kbely, Caslav and Namest upon Oslava will be delivered by the end of 2018. These new radars at military airports will gradually replace original TESLA radars from 1970’s, which have been kept alive more than 10 years after expected service life and without availability of certain important spare parts, also thanks to the professionals from ELDIS Pardubice Maintenance Department.