The Defence Electronics business unit of EADS Defence & Security (DS) has delivered a first batch of 5,000 transmit/receive (T/R) modules and related electronics for the joint US-Italian-German Medium Extended Air Defence System (MEADS) Multifunction Fire Control Radar (MFCR). EADS DS is thus the first European company to mass produce the core components for the new Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar technology on an industrial scale.

Within the framework of the MEADS design and development program, Defence Electronics had been awarded a contract worth about €120 M for the production of approximately 40,000 T/R modules and associated electronic components, so-called manifolds, which will make the MEADS fire control radar the most powerful radar of its type in the world. These modules are key elements in the new generation of radar systems which are based on AESA technology.

AESA radar systems use electronic beam scanning, which is made possible by thousands of T/R modules. This concept offers completely new possibilities for deployment and will therefore be used for most of the future military radars in the world. EADS DS staff from Defence Electronics, Defence and Communications Systems and LFK are cooperating closely to ensure the success of the MEADS program. German companies LFK GmbH and MBDA are responsible for the complete radar antenna.

Bernd Wenzler, CEO of Defence Electronics, stated, “The high demands placed on the capabilities of the MEADS radar cannot be met without AESA technology. The joint efforts of the various EADS Defence & Security partners have advanced this development to a point where we can supply the participating countries with tens of thousands of deployable modules within a relatively short period.”