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Hengelo, Denmark: The first SMART-S Mk2 surveillance radar, installed on the HDMS Absalon of the Royal Danish Navy, passed the Sea Acceptance Test (SAT) with flying colours. Overall conclusion: SMART-S Mk2 easily exceeded all requirements. In particular the requirement for low elevation tracking accuracy was typically exceeded by a factor 7. During the tests , SMART-S Mk2 was controlled through Absalon's third-party supplied CFlex Command and Control system.
The SAT was held from 21 August until 30 August and took place in the littoral waters of Kattegat and in the vicinity of Bornholm. During the tests only three Thales engineers were on board of HDMS Absalon.
The SAT consisted of many separate tests with a great variety of targets:
– A Landing Craft Personnel and a Fast Patrol Boat were used for surface detection and track accuracy tests;
– A Lear jet made about ten sorties to test SMART-S Mk2's air detection and track accuracy;
– Lynx helicopters from the Danish and British navies were used for accuracy tests, track initiation and maintenance tests and helicopter approach manoeuvres. On multiple occasions the helicopter even landed on the Absalon's heli deck guided by SMART S Mk2;
– F16 jets of the Danish Air Force made two sorties of two jets each to test the track maintenance for manoeuvring high-velocity targets. They performed combat turns and multiple high-G weaving flight patterns. The F16s also simulated low-altitude (100 ft) high-velocity attacks in formations and flight patterns designed to mislead SMART-S Mk2.
– A Mitsubishi MU2 turboprop airplane was used for minimum range tests. For this purpose, the plane made several overhead passes.
During the tests, several targets spontaneously presented themselves, e.g. a Polish submarine, Tornado jets from the German Air Force, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles from the Danish Armed Forces and a Fast Attack Craft of the Norwegian Navy.
All tests were performed in both SMART-S Mk2 modes: the long range air surveillance mode and the shorter range, high update rate, defence mode, so effectively two radar systems were tested. Confidence in SMART-S Mk2 grew so high during the tests that the system was used operationally by the Danish navy. The high level of the radar's user-friendliness is demonstrated by the fact that the operators have yet to receive their training.
The SMART-S Mk2 on board of the HDMS Absalon is the first ever built. The second one is being used at present for maintainer training in Hengelo. It will be shipped to Denmark at the end of 2007 to be installed on HDMS Esbern Snare and be subjected to its SAT in January 2008.
