EADS Defence & Security (DS) will equip the German Armed Forces with a new kind of ground surveillance radar – Bodenüberwachungsradar (BÜR) – for detecting movements on the ground and at low altitudes with unmatched precision. Initially Defence Electronics (DE), an integrated activity of DS, has handed over the first of two system demonstrators to the German Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) for evaluation by the Bundeswehr’s Technical Centers.

The delivery of approximately 80 BÜR systems is scheduled to start in 2012. They are intended to close the gap in capabilities of the German Armed Forces in the area of intelligence gathering and reconnaissance. A modified version of this radar destined for civil applications such as surveillance of border regions or industrial facilities is currently under development.

The BÜR system is based on Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) electronic scan control technology, which opens up new possibilities for detection and surveillance. Thanks to delay-free electronic beam control, the radar can perform multiple reconnaissance tasks at the same time, thus achieving a much greater level of efficiency and reliability in comparison to mechanically scanned radars. Each BÜR system can therefore assume the tasks of several conventional radars.

BÜR is suited for mobile use on the DINGO 2 armored vehicle. The high performance of the radar is largely due to the great number of transmitter and receiver modules in the antenna, which are made from special HF-capable materials and are developed and manufactured at Defence Electronics’ Ulm, Germany, site under clean-room conditions.