New Osprey lightweight AESA radar system disclosed by Leonardo.

Osprey’s flat panel design opens up the potential for installation on a long list of aircraft previously deemed unable to carry such a class of radar, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). In its configuration for NAWSARH, Osprey comprises three flat panels, one on the front of the helicopter and two at the rear, facing out at angles to create the 360 degree field of regard. Space requirements are minimal and the helicopter’s belly is left clear, maximizing ground clearance for challenging rescue landings on rough terrain.

Osprey also marks a second world-first in providing a persistent 360 degree field of view in a lightweight package suitable for small platforms. Osprey represents the latest in ‘E-scan’ technology, meaning that it uses electronic-only means to direct the radar beam – moving it from target to target in fractions of a second. Because of the speed of these changes in direction, the Osprey radar effectively provides simultaneous coverage in multiple directions.

Designed and manufactured in the UK at Leonardo-Finmeccanica’s Edinburgh site, Osprey was developed via inward investment from the company in radar technology and expertise. Osprey will be sold alongside the company’s successful Seaspray family of E-Scan radars, which are in active service with the Royal Navy and with a number of export customers including the United States Coast Guard.

In addition to surveillance radars, Leonardo-Finmeccanica is Europe’s leader in fire control radar, providing the AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar for Saab’s Gripen NG fighter. The company also leads the pan-European EuroRADAR consortium to provide the current Captor-M radar for the Eurofighter Typhoon and is leading the same consortium in the development of the Typhoon’s new Captor-E AESA radar.

Leonardo-Finmeccanica in Nerviano (near Milan, Italy) also produces high-performance mechanically scanned radars, the Grifo (combat radar family) and Gabbiano (surveillance radar family). These are both in production and have been sold widely internationally, over 400 Grifo radars and over 50 Gabbiano radars have been sold to date.