Leonardo will provide a RAT 31 DL/M air defense radar system for Indonesian Air Force.

Leonardo has signed a contract with Indonesian company PT Len Industri (Persero) to provide a RAT 31 DL/M radar system for the Indonesian Air Force (IAF). The IAF will operate the radar to strengthen the air defence system of the Republic of Indonesia.

The RAT 31 DL/M will be operated by the Indonesian Air Force and has already been acquired by the Italian, German, Austrian Air Forces. The system belongs to the RAT 31 family of which the RAT 31 DL represents NATO’s primary air defense radar (Picture source: Leonardo)

PT Len Industri will supply local components, infrastructure support, and expert radar maintenance. For this contract and future programmes in Country Leonardo and PT Len Industri plan a joint production of radars in Indonesia.

The contract signing came just after an announcement made in November 2019 at Defense & Security exhibition in Bangkok, where Leonardo revealed it will also provide a RAT 31 DL to the Thailand Air Force.

The RAT 31 DL/M has already been acquired by the Italian, German, Austrian air forces in addition to a North African Air Force.

The RAT 31 DL/M is part of Leonardo’s RAT 31 radar systems family, and it shares its architecture with the RAT 31 DL Long Range GCI (Ground Control Interceptor) an advanced, L-band, solid state solution for 3D surveillance, with an effective range of over 470 km. It protects against air and missile threats, including ballistic missiles, for homeland security and expeditionary missions. The radar system can adapt to the challenges posed by a broad range of operational scenarios, including where the radar has to face jamming and heavy clutter at the same time. Its highly reliable solid-state technology allows for a ‘graceful degradation’, where even if some radar modules fail, the overall performance of the radar is maintained.

More than 50 RAT 31 DL systems have been sold worldwide. It is NATO’s primary air defence sensor, meeting alliance standards for air defence radar architecture and allowing for full interoperability. Fixed and mobile variants of the radar are both currently in-service in NATO and non-NATO countries.