NEWTOWN, Conn. - On March 9, BAE Systems Australia announced that the eighth of Australia's ANZAC Anti-Ship Missile Defense (ASMD) ships, the HMAS Stuart completed upgrades. Among the enhancements that the ship received were the fixing of the S-band Active Electronically Scanned Phased Array CEAFAR radar (now known as the CEAFAR1-S) and the X-band CEAMOUNT radar (now known as the CEAFAR1-X).
The CEAFAR1-S and CEAFAR1-X are CEA Technologies' premier naval radars. They represent a major statement of the Australian defense industry's high tech competencies. CEAFAR is a scalable, modular, fixed, 3-D active phased array family of land and naval radars. In operation, they are capable of providing air traffic control, air surveillance, coastal surveillance, land surveillance, surface search, ship self-defense, and weather monitoring.
The ANZAC ASMD upgrade began in with a September 2005 announcement, with the Australian government stating its intent to use the CEAFAR radars. The ANZAC lattice mast structure would be removed alongside the previous radars, and an enclosed mast with the new CEAFARs would be fitted.
In August 2008, the first sea trials of the CEAFAR on board an ANZAC ship were achieved, with the radars sailing on board the HMAS Perth. With the completion of upgrades on board the HMAS Stuart, the final Australian ANZAC frigate AMSD enhancement has been completed.
