Thales has completed the acquisition of Aveillant Ltd., a UK-based start-up company which has established itself as a pioneer in holographic radar technology. Holographic radars differ from standard surveillance techniques by establishing a permanent and complete picture of the total air space volume.

Aveillant describes its 3D Holographic Radar as an advanced ‘staring array’-based radar that provides a real-time, three-dimensional surveillance of the airspace through its use of a modular array that can be configured to match the airport requirements of range and coverage. Unlike traditional scanning radars, the company explains, 3D Holographic Radar actually characterises, identifies and intelligently decides what to do with the returns it receives, depending upon the requirement.

One application for the technology is wind farm mitigation for air traffic controllers, where the system identifies wind turbines and removes them from the ATC display whilst at the same time passing through aircraft returns it receives. Traditional Primary Surveillance Radars suffer from false targets in the presence of windfarms, caused by the large reflections and the Doppler shifts of the rotating blades.

The technique is also adapted to the growing drone market, enabling the detection, tracking and classification of very small, moving targets such as UAVs.

Thales sees the technology as meeting customers' requirements for systems ensuring the protection of large infrastructures, critical sites and airports. “Aveillant’s holographic radar technology will provide a key building block for integrated solutions to provide this type of protection”, comments Serge Adrian, Senior Vice President for surface radar activities, Thales.

Aveillant's Gamekeeper system — displayed at this year's Paris Air Show — is already being used for drone protection in Monaco, Singapore and at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.