Osprey

Multi-mode Surveillance Radar

The Osprey multi-mode surveillance radar provides second-generation active electronically scanned array (AESA) surveillance capability as the primary sensor on airborne assets to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

A scalable design fulfills the surveillance requirements of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) through strategic ISR platforms of users around the world. Osprey operates in the most demanding roles for fixed and rotary wing applications, bringing together wide azimuth and elevation electronically scanned (E-Scan) fixed antenna(s) with a compact processor and multi-channel receiver.

Class-leading maritime surveillance capability
AESA-enabled small target mode (STM)
Very high resolution, wide swath SAR Mapping
Small radar cross section (RCS), low minimum
detectable velocity (MDV), multi-channel moving
target indication (MTI)
Air-to-air surveillance
Instantaneous multiple-mode interleaving

Difficult target detection from high altitude
High reliability for persistent operations
Flexible configuration, installation, and integration
Multiple fixed antennas, choice of antenna sizes
Belly-free, obscuration-free 360° coverage
Open standards interfaces
Compact, lightweight LRUs

Osprey provides a genuine multi-domain capability, with high-performance sea surveillance; notably against ‘difficult targets’, land surveillance with wide swath, very high-resolution ground mapping, small and low-speed ground target indication, and high-performance air-to-air surveillance.

These capabilities, combined with the radar’s ability to rapidly interleave modes and provide scan-independent beam steering, make Osprey ideally suited to mixed environment operations, such as in the littoral.

Osprey is a low size, weight, and power (SWaP) radar system, offered with a range of antenna sizes that may include up to four fixed antennas, depending on the azimuth coverage requirement, and which leave the belly of the aircraft free for operation to and from unprepared surfaces; or for other antennas, sensors or weapon systems. It is particularly well suited to UAS operations, with very high reliability for persistent surveillance, and difficult target detection capability from high altitudes, facilitating platform line of sight (LoS) communications and improved platform fuel efficiency.

The New US Navy MQ-8C Fire Scout is Equipped With Leonardo's Osprey Radar

Platform integration is simplified through its flexible configuration (various antenna size and installation options), its low SWaP, air-cooled line replaceable units (LRU), and its open standard interfaces.

Performance benefit of AESA radar

E-Scan enables simultaneous multi-domain wide-area search and Target of Interest (ToI) focus, and ultrafast beam scanning to provide vastly improved clutter cancellation and superior detection performance. This performance is maintained from high altitudes typically encountered by UAS operating at the full extent of LoS data links.

Osprey-01

Superior reliability and operational availability

At the core of the AESA radar design is the ability to tolerate individual element failure. Component failures within the array result in graceful performance degradation rather than complete system failure, delivering high operational availability when compared
with conventional radar systems.

Its high reliability and availability result in a reduced maintenance requirement and provides the option to reduce spares holding, resulting in significant cost benefits over the life of the system.

Background

Leonardo is a radar center of excellence that has designed, developed and supported radar systems for more than 65 years. More than 3000 radar systems have been supplied for manned and unmanned fixed and rotary wing aircraft in surveillance, fire control and ground attack roles.

We have extensive experience in surveillance radar and have produced more than 800 systems. Osprey is the latest addition to our family of AESA surveillance radars, which includes Seaspray 7000E, and Seaspray 7500E, and PicoSAR.

Osprey datasheet

Characteristics

Frequency: X-Band
Scan coverage: Installation dependant
Maximum range: 200 NM
Mean Time Between Critical Failure (MTBcF): > 2000 hours
Cooling: Unconditioned air
Weight (Approx. installation dependent): 28 kg/62 lbs (Single Antenna, Processor and Receiver LRUs, and IMU)
Interface standards: Ethernet, RS 422, ARINC 708, ARINC 429
Video outputs: Multiple options for Mission System and cockpit display compatibility

Dimensions (H x W x D Approx.)

Processor: 200 mm x 125 mm x 230 mm (8 x 5 x 9 inches)
Receiver: 206 mm x 255 mm x 175 mm (8 x 10 x 7 inches)
Antenna: 200 mm x 510 mm x 140 mm (8 x 20 x 6 inches)

Functions

Track While Scan: Up to 1000 tracks, with automatic track initiation (ATI)
Track Identification: AIS and inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR)
Mode Interleaving: Simultaneous multi-mode operation

Capabilities

Maritime Surface Surveillance: Maritime surveillance, Small target mode
Strip and Spot SAR Ground Mapping: High-resolution, wide-area ground mapping
Moving target detection: Ground, Maritime, and Air MTI Air-to-Air Intercept
Navigation: Landmass discrimination, Weather detection, Turbulence detection
Beacon detection: search and rescue transponder (SART)
Target imaging/classification: ISAR, Range profiling