Page 33 - Australian Defence Magazine Sep 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
PASSIVE RADAR 33
of interest in a similar manner to an active radar system, it provides a target location and tracking capability, without the target know- ing it has been detected.
“Unlike traditional active radar systems, passive radar does not require spectrum al- location to operate, which makes it easier and cost-effective to deploy in a world where spectrum is becoming increasingly more ex- pensive and elusive to secure,” Palmer adds.
Maverick M-series is one of a family of pas-
sive radar systems being developed by Silentium Defence, which also includes the Maverick C-series for civil applica- tions such as commercial airspace and drone surveillance; and the larger, strategic, Maverick S-series which is de- signed to detect and track even small objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and provide long-range air surveillance.
In the defence sector, the Maverick family has applica- tions which range from the detection and tracking of small items such as Small UAS’ (SUAS), to Australia’s contribu-
tion to Space Domain Awareness (SDA). “The form factors for size, weight and power are tailored for the different opera- tional uses cases across all three Maverick series systems and takes in everything from tactical situational awareness with the M-se- ries, designed to obtain enough information about what’s happening in the local environ-
ment, all the way to LEO,” Palmer explains. “In terms of the product offering, it shows we have a far more cost-effective scalable detection and tracking solution that applies across objects which are small and close, through to ob-
jects which are still quite small, but a long way away.” From a Defence acquisition standpoint, the applicability of the Maverick family spans, but is not necessarily limited to, projects such as Land 19/7B (Short Range Ground Based Air Defence), Air 6500 (Joint Battle Management and Inte- grated Air and Missile Defence System) and JP9360 (Space Domain Awareness). The company has already worked with
“COMPREHENSIVE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS WITH SUFFICIENT TIME TO ACT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL”
SILENTIUM