Aerospace & Defense Technology - May 2021 - 23

Anti-Drone Countermeasures

cause it's the face of IRIS, the hub with
which users form their main impressions of the radar, so a lot of effort was
put into it. It is generally acknowledged
that ELVIRA was a little below the 'stateof-the-art' bar that was set. Therefore,
with IRIS, a concerted effort was made
to catch up, beginning with the development of a brand new, pleasingly
smooth, web-based application. This interface provides the user with a clear
and seamless view of the radar tracks, a
background map and control of the
radar - from anywhere in the world - as
long as there is a network connection to
it. Plus, a more consistent look-and-feel
reduces the need for training operators.

Validate... and Validate Again
Close-up of the four-channel transmitter array

The system with specialised protective radome

and lighter weight, every effort was
made to exclude any heat exchangers.
When it came to leading a careful design of DC/DC converters and optimizing the FPGA processing, every watt of
heat counted. That's why, throughout
the system, the enclosures and antenna

panels were also designed as heat sinks,
spreading heat without adding weight
to the system.
On the flipside of the product, there
was the user interface to be considered.
Software needed to be given as much attention to detail as the hardware be-

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Cov

ToC

Even after thousands of hours of simulation on RF, electrical, mechanical,
digital, and thermal design, there's no
guarantee that reality won't throw a
spanner in the works.
Physical tests on the finalized product
are the real proof in the pudding. In the
first place, these tests encompass the
key requirements of detection and classification range, and are performed during numerous field trials in all kinds of
environments and conditions. In these
tests, both false negatives and false positives were assessed, because the latter is
also critical to successful deployment.
A far larger part is the testing required
for all applicable certifications: CE,
Radio Equipment Directive and, in the
future STANAG-4370 Mil-Spec. Extensive pre-compliance testing and years of
experience with compliance tests
helped to get it right on the first try for
CE, IP and MIL-STD-810G vibration
testing, executed at notified bodies.
Validation can be a layered and
lengthy process. This upcoming year, all
tests required by STANAG-4370 will be
performed, leading to a full 'Mil-Spec'
product. Pre-compliance testing on the
key aspects such as EMC/EMI and environmental temperature point to a successful outcome.
This article was written by Gerben
Pakkert, Director R&D and PEC; and Rob
van der Meer, System Architect; Robin
Radar Systems (The Hague, Netherlands).
For more information, visit http://info.
hotims.com/79413-502.
23

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