Airservices Australia has commissioned a new $8 million Terminal Area Radar (TAR) at Adelaide Airport, as it replaces radar equipment which has been in operation since 1993.
The recent upgrade follows Airservices’ commissioning of a $6 million TAR at Sydney Airport in June, after earlier TAR installations at the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Darwin Airports.
Part of Airservices’ national $80 million Mode S Terminal Area Radar (AMSTAR) project, Adelaide Airport’s TAR now provides improved surveillance of air traffic up to 256nm (474km) around Adelaide with its Mode S (select) capable monopulse secondary surveillance radar, and also features a solid state 60nm range primary radar. Thales Australia has provided a total of 10 STAR2000/RSM970 System TARs to Airservices, which are being installed at a number of Australian airports over the next year.
Airservices general manager Technology and Asset Services, Alastair Hodgson said the use of Mode S technology would deliver “significant benefits” for the wider aviation industry, with the new radar system consuming “25 per cent less power to operate” than the existing facilities. In addition to the new TAR, Airservices have also begun construction on a new control tower at Adelaide Airport, expected to be commissioned in 2012.
Adelaide had previously relied upon a temporary radar facility (TRF) commissioned by Airservices earlier this year while upgrade work to replace the airport’s existing 18-year-old radar was underway. However, the TRF has since been moved to Canberra Airport, as upgrades begin on existing radar facilities there.
