ARGOSystems has always provided the US and its allies with equipment to intercept, identify and dissuade intruders. The company's AR-900 radar band ESM/DF system is the most recent addition to its range of surveillance products.
The AR-900 is ARGOSystems' newest automatic electronic support measures/direction-finding (ESM/DF) system that employs the latest high- technology components and modern signal processing techniques to achieve superior per-formance in a compact, lightweight package suitable for ship, submarine, aircraft and mobile ground-based installations.
Technically, the AR-900 combines high-performance signal-handling capability, fast reaction time, impressive DF accuracy, excellent sensitivity and effective operator display and control features at an affordable price. Operationally, its wide-open architecture and automatic signal processor frees operators from tuning receivers and pointing antennas, ensuring that all priority signals in the environment will be acquired quickly and identified automatically.
| ARGOSystems has expanded its portfolio of surveillance products with the introduction of the AR-900 |
The AR-900 ESM/DF system employs multiple wideband digital frequency discriminator (DFD) receivers and omnidirectional antennas to provide instantaneous 2-18 GHz frequency and 360-degree azimuth coverage. It has true monopulse DF capability with better than three- degree root mean square (rms) accuracy over the 2-18 GHz frequency band. DF measure-ments are provided on each intercepted signal with sufficient accuracy for jamming or countermeasure initialisation. It has high sensitivity (-65 dBm) for long-range and over-the-horizon visibility and a high-speed digital signal processor provides accurate signal parameter measurements within 1 s of signal acquisition for rapid signal and platform identification in complex radar environments. Automatic signal processing means that a dedicated operator is not required to operate the AR-900.
The AR-900 system incorporates ARGOSystems' recently developed radar signal processor that tracks and updates 500 signals in real time. The AR-900 signal processor identifies modern threats such as pulse repetition interval (PRI) agile, frequency agile and combined PRI/frequency agile radars. It uses multiple high-speed microprocessors and advanced software algorithms to ensure detection of low POI signals. The AR-900 may be used as a stand-alone ESM system or integrated with electronic counter-measures (ECM) systems and weapon control systems (WCS). High-speed data interfaces allow communications to almost any ECM or WCS.
The AR-900 operator workstation is a ruggedised computer system with a high-resolution colour display. The operating software uses pull- down menus to make the AR-900 simple to use and easy to learn. All system controls are exercised through the workstation. Operators use the workstation to initialise the system, create and download emitter threat identification libraries and monitor the signal environment. The AR-900 automatically alerts operators to potential threats with audio and visual alarms and identifies the potential threat. Operators can monitor and analyse the signal environment with alphanumeric and graphics display formats. The system includes a built-in signal simulator that is used for automatic self-calibration and diagnostic testing.
