The security and economic wellbeing of coastal nations depend on securing their maritime borders, littoral resources, ports, and critical infrastructure within their territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone – EEZ. Maritime forces must periodically enhance domain awareness using over-the-horizon capabilities, often deploying shipborne aerial assets for patrol.
These versatile radar systems need to operate 24-7 in all weather, penetrating clouds, rain, fog, and smoke to detect, track, and classify small vessels and swimmers. Airborne maritime surveillance radars are highly flexible assets; their extensive ranges and wide coverage make them essential for maritime domain awareness under a variety of conditions.
The new C-catcher ELM-2025S, designed and developed by IAI’s systems and sensors subsidiary, ELTA Systems Ltd (IAI ELTA), the world’s smallest multi-role, multi-mode airborne surveillance AESA radar. Leveraging over thirty-five years of experience with the benchmark setting ELM-2022, the most widely deployed airborne maritime surveillance radar in service today, the company’s in-house Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology, advance processing tools, and state of the art electronic components, including Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductors and RF components, IAI ELTA has substantially reduced size and weight while delivering superb performance and reliability.
In addition to its exceptionally small form factor, the ability to operate without forced air cooling and minimal power requirements make ELM-2025S ideally suited for integration on compact UAVs and VTOLs. Broad 120-degree coverage in standard configuration, the option of expanding to 240 degrees, and effective performance in all weather and visibility conditions make ELM-2025S especially useful for force protection, site protection, including offshore oil installations, ports, harbors and other critical infrastructure.
The new C-catcher also provides effective ground surveillance capabilities, offers automatic classification and simultaneous multi-mode operation, including Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) and Range Signature (RS), in form factors that are smaller, require less power and lighter than anything seen before.
The C-catcher ELM-2025S provides smaller airborne platforms with effective over-the-horizon surveillance capability in a cost-effective package that requires very little “real estate” onboard.
