With the three Class 124 frigates, the German Navy operates ships specifically designed for air defense and joint air defense. The main sensor for building a wide-area air situation picture is the air traffic surveillance radar SMART-L (Passive Electronically Scanned Array Radar, PESA, from the manufacturer Thales NL), which, however, is affected by considerable obsolescence.
The main goal of the project “Elimination of obsolescence of the wide-range sensor and expansion of the F124's capabilities in air defense” is to maintain the airspace surveillance capability of the F124 by eliminating the obsolescence of the SMART-L. In addition, the frigate is to be able to make a contribution to NATO Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) in the areas of early warning and target advance warning that is commensurate with Germany's leading role in the Air and Missile Defense Cluster.
Two steps
Stage 1 involves eliminating obsolescence through the procurement and integration of a new long-range sensor into the F124 class frigates. To minimize risk, in addition to the three ship systems, a test, reference and training facility (TRA) will be set up at the marine technology school in Parow, which will later also serve as a training facility for repair training. The first tests and verifications of the wide-range sensor in conjunction with a derivative of the Combat Direction System (CDS) F124 will also take place at the TRA. This version of the CDS F124 on the TRA is already adapted to the new wide-range sensor, in particular the sensor simulation and sensor control components.
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