SRF Airspace monitoring and management system

SFR Radarantenne at the Flieger-Flab-Museum Dübendorf

The SRF Airspace monitoring and management system was the first Airspace monitoring and management system of the Swiss Air Force.

History

SFR Heightradarantenne, Model at the Flieger-Flab-Museum Dübendorf

After the second world war it became apparent that with the rapid development of air warfare defense of Switzerland without a comprehensive air surveillance is not realistic. However, the knowledge of the practical application in Switzerland were very modest and the victors Allied of World War II very restrictive with the sharing of knowledge and the sale of new radar equipment. Therefore, only the LGR-1 Radar was available. It was used to find suitable locations for the radar antennas of the SFR system. The core of the SFR system is the early warning and guidance radar ER-200,from the Société Française Radioélectrique (SFR) from France (predecessor of Thomson - CSF Company). The system was ordered on 31 January 1952, in a larger number of radar systems, radar components from which were compiled by its own architecture. From 1955 to 1966, a school complex in Dübendorf (the "Radar Doerfli" (Radar Village) on the training site Dürrbach Rüti bei Riggisberg), one on the top of Bütschelegg (above Bern-Belp) and the plants on height locations (mountain peaks) were formed for the first radar aerial surveillance system of Switzerland. The expansion of the height locations was difficult and led to delays in the start-up. Experience with chaff has already been done and could be considered. However, the recording from flying objects in the area with constant radar echo (for example, in large-scale radar echo of a mountain which is located in the line of sight of the radar behind the flying object) is problematic and could only be improved by improve the electronic components. Due to these facts, the SFR air surveillance system was only after about 10 years complete in use before it was replaced after a relatively short time by the FLORIDA Airspace monitoring and management system. An antenna and the model of a height search antenna (back to back) is now in the Flieger-Flab-Museum at Dübendorf.

Specifications

The radar system operates in S-band discrete frequencyislands in the range of 2910 - 3350 MHz and scans with two rotating antennas the heightlayers of the airspace two-dimensional (by side and distance). A separate height finder - radar is used to measure the altitude of individually selected targets. For the vertical radar coverage, a third radar antenna is required: a double antenna (Back to Back) for the height overlap "deep - medium" in place of the originally planned "Station Couverture Basse".

References

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