Theme 1 : Maritime safety and security

Given that the Earth is round, land-based high frequency radar systems currently employed for maritime surveillance cannot detect objects beyond the horizon. It is therefore impossible to carry out effective surveillance of the 200 nautical mile Economic Exclusion Zone without resorting to costly methods, such as aerial, satellite or ship-based systems.

Surface wave HF radar technology is now arousing considerable interest, as it meets new maritime safety and security requirements. It is indeed the only form of non-airborne technology capable of offering permanent surveillance of shipping and illegal activities beyond the horizon and throughout the 200 nautical mile zone. This technology is also capable of carrying out scientific missions linked to oceanography, such as the study of currents, and to the environment, such as detecting and monitoring marine pollution.

The STRADIVARIUS project aims to go beyond the limitations inherent in current HF radar systems by offering a technological breakthrough relating to aspects of system design, namely architecture of the radar and development of complex waves. Image resolution will be improved as a result.

Compact in size and with reduced radiated power, this technology will make it possible to increase the detection capability of small-scale vessels. Deployment of a system with a limited number of antennae will provide total coverage of French Mediterranean zones of influence.

The STRADIVARIUS project is recognised jointly with the Pôle Mer PACA

STRADIVARIUS project partners

Companies

• DIGINEXT, Aix en Provence, subsidiary of the Communication et Système Group, designs and produces complex real-time systems. It is involved in sectors with a strong R&D component: defence, transport, navigation and, more particularly, the French navy (Marine Nationale).

• TDF Rennes specialises in radio electronics and has expertise at a global level in the field of antennae.

• Actimar Brest specialises in understanding and modelling the marine environment – sea states, operational systems for analysing and predicting the ocean environment and design and implementation of high-resolution remote-sensing tools.

Research centres

• LSEET Toulon is a laboratory specialising in the field of instrumentation and modelling of the interaction between electromagnetic propagation and the natural environment.