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At the International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO 2012 which was held in September 2012 in Poland, WZU (and its program partners Thales Netherlands and Raytheon) presented a new air defence missile system called the "BIRDS". The whole system is based on the PELICAN launcher vehicle armed with Sparrow missile. The BIRDS air defense system uses a Rosomak wheeled armoured vehicle with the Thales SWALLOW tracking and illuminating radar based on the naval radar and EO tracking system STIR 1.2 EO Mk2. This vehicle with the SWALLOW radar has been designed for precise target tracking, and for guiding SPARROW RIM-162 ESSM missiles. The components of the STIR 1.2 GB tracking and illuminating radar system include I-band target-tracking impulse transmitter, tracking receiver, continuous I-band illuminating transmitter, SAC antenna power and control unit, missile guidance unit (MGU), control station, and operating station.
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| Radar system |
The SWALLOW radar has been designed for precise target tracking, and for guiding SPARROW RIM-162 ESSM missiles. It enables tracking low-RCS targets in the I-band. It features a solid-state transmitter enabling fast switching to one of many operating frequencies, in order to avoid interference. The receiving unit employs an impulse compression and passive interference elimination unit, based on Fourier analysis. The radar is equipped with navigation and leveling system. It can operate in two regimes: tracking and guiding. The radar antenna is mounted on top at the centre of the hull, it can rotate on 360° with an elevation from -30° to +120° and rotation speed of 90° in less than 1.2 sec. The radar has a range of 72 km with range resolution of 100 m.
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 The SWALLOW Thales radar antenna is mounted on top at the centre of the hull. |
| Design and protection |
The layout of the Rosomak (Polish version of the AMV Patria) SWALLOW is standard with the driver at the front with the engine at its right and the crew compartment at the rear with the control and operating station. The armor thickness of the Rosomak vehicle had to protect against hits with 14.5 mm projectiles from the front hemisphere, 7.62 mm projectiles from sides, rear and top, and against shrapnel of artillery shells of up to 155 mm caliber, while the hull and chassis were to protect against the effects of detonating a mine with up to 6 kg of explosive under any wheel. The vehicle is fully amphibious being propelled in the water by two propellers mounted at the rear of the hull.
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 Control and operating station are fitted in the crew compartment at the rear of the vehicle. |
| Propulsion |
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At MSPO 2012, the SWALLOW radar was carried on the 8x8 chassis of armoured vehicle personnel carrier Rosomak, but it can be also mounted on a tracked vehicle, ensuring mechanical mounting of the radar antenna along with drive units, as well as the crew compartment with control and data transmission equipment The Rosomak SWALLOW is motorized with a 6 cylinder engine with turbocharging Scania D1 12 56A03 PE, with maximal force 360 kW/ 2100 turn per minute, and with permanence force 294 kW / 2100 turn per minute. The vehicle can run at a maximum road speed of 100 km with a maximum range of 500 km.
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| Combat use |
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The SWALLOW radar is compatible with any functioning air defense missile set or a digital network centric command centre. It is topographically related to the set or system, receiving detected target parameters. After acquiring the indicated target, it signals tracking at the command centre, at the same time transmitting data on the target to the launcher and ESSM SPARROW RIM-162 missile. After the launcher instruments and missiles indicate ready- to-fire status, the missile is launched at the tracked target by the command centre. Meanwhile, target illuminating transmitter is activated on the radar. The process of semi-active missile guidance takes place. In the case of multiple targets being indicated for destruction by the command centre, multichannel tracking procedure is initiated along with guidance of successively launched missiles.
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| Specifications |
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Type of vehicle
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Tracking and illuminating radar for the BIRDS air defence missile system
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Country users
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Prototype Poland
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Designer Country
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Poland
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Accessories
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Night vision, NBC protection system, air conditioning
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Crew
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1 + 4 soldiers
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Armor
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Basic protection against small arms 7.62mm, 14.5 mm at the front, mine blast, shell splinters.
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Radar Range
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72 km
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Radar range resolution
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100 m
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Static accuracy
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Less than 0,3 mrad
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Dimensions vehicle
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Length, 7.7 m; Width, 2.8 m;
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