EMPAR (European Multifunction Phased Array Radar) is a rotating C band multifunction

passive electronically scanned array A passive electronically scanned array (PESA), also known as passive phased array, is an antenna in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions (that is, a phased array antenna), in which all the ...

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

that reached

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

in 2006 and was initially built by

Selex ES Selex ES was a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, active in the electronics and information technology business, based in Italy and the UK, and formed in January 2013, following Finmeccanica's decision to combine its existing SELEX Elsag and SELEX ...

(previously

SELEX Sistemi Integrati SELEX Sistemi Integrati S.p.A. was an aerospace, defence and security-related electronics manufacturing company headquartered in Rome, Italy, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica. It designed and developed systems for homeland security; s ...

, since 2016 merged in Finmeccanica, then

Leonardo S.p.A. Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian multinational company specialising in aerospace, defence and security. Headquartered in Rome, the company has 180 sites worldwide. It is the 12th largest ...

). It is designed to be the principal radar system aboard naval vessels of medium and large sizes. The radar offers full volumetric search coverage, low altitude and surface search, the tracking of multiple targets, and the capability to uplink information for missile guidance.

Details

EMPAR's principal function is 3D volumetric air search, providing a bearing, range and altitude for air traffic out to ranges of . It is capable of tracking aircraft or smaller targets such as missiles. The system employs a single narrow beam for transmission, plus multiple beams for reception. These can be steered electronically, allowing the EMPAR to scan very rapidly across a wide angle of bearing and/or

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

. It thus provides the simultaneous monitoring of an entire hemisphere. The flat face of the radar is rotated at 60 rpm, allowing it to sweep across the whole sky very rapidly. The system therefore provides an almost continuous 360 degree view, in contrast to earlier rotating radar systems which often took ten seconds or more to sweep the sky. This capability is important to

air defence Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

systems given the great speed of modern anti ship missiles such as the

P-270 Moskit The P-270 Moskit (; ) is a Soviet supersonic ramjet powered anti-ship cruise missile. Its GRAU designation is 3M80, air launched variant is the Kh-41 and its NATO reporting name is SS-N-22 Sunburn (one of two missiles with that designation). The ...

BrahMos The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10)frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

and

waveform In electronics, acoustics, and related fields, the waveform of a signal is the shape of its Graph of a function, graph as a function of time, independent of its time and Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude Scale (ratio), scales and of any dis ...

it is using as necessary. As with all phased array radars it is difficult to

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or interfere with and can work in the presence of intense clutter. EMPAR is compatible with the

PAAMS The Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) is a joint programme developed by France, Italy, and the United Kingdom for an integrated anti-aircraft warfare system. The prime contractor is EUROPAAMS, a joint venture between Eurosam (66%) and ...

system, providing guidance to

Aster Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...

15 or 30 missiles for medium or long range air defence.

Employment

;

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Algerian National Navy The Algerian Naval Force (ANF; , ) is the naval branch of the Algerian People's National Armed Forces, Algerian military. The naval force operates from multiple bases along the country's nearly coastline, fulfilling its primary role of monitoring ...

* 1 x BDSL ''Kalaat Béni Abbès'' class French Navy ship Chevalier Paul

;

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Marine Nationale The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in the world recognised as being a blu ...

* 2 x ''Horizon-class''

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s ;

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Italian Navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

* 1 x ''Cavour''-class

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

* 2 x ''Horizon-class'' destroyers * 1 x

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

training center

Development

MFRA (Multi Functional Radar Active) EMPAR (European Multifunction Phased Array Radar) is evolved to MFRA (Multi Functional Radar Active), an AESA rotating C band multifunction

active electronically scanned array An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled antenna array in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the a ...

built by

. MFRA is embarked on the Italian FREMM Frigate ''Bergamini'' class (10 units with 10 radar).

References

{{Reflist Military radars of Italy Naval radars Military equipment introduced in the 2000s