BAE Systems Australia has announced that it will integrate customised software from South Australian company Dedicated Systems as part of its upgrade of the Jindalee Operational Radar Network  (JORN).

JORN is a network of three remote over-the-horizon radars (OTHR) located at Laverton (Western Australia), Longreach (Queensland) and Alice Springs (Northern Territory). The system provides persistent wide-area surveillance at ranges of 1,000 to 3,000km, and plays a vital role in supporting the Australian Defence Force’s air and maritime operations, border protection, disaster relief and search and rescue operations.

JORN is controlled and operated by the Royal Australian Air Force from the JORN Coordination Centre at the RAAF Base in Edinburgh, north of Adelaide, alongside BAE Systems Australia headquarters which are also located at Edinburgh.

BAE Systems is undertaking the most significant system upgrade of the radar since it was accepted into service in 2003. 

The new software will significantly increase the area covered by the radar and the amount of information gathered for the Royal Australian Air Force. 

An important part of the radar upgrade is the planned migration to a modular and scalable framework of open system architecture which will increase the reliability and performance of the radar. 

This will also enable much quicker system maintenance and upgrades and can be easily integrated with other software. 

Through Dedicated Systems, software connectivity specialist RTI will provide a product called ‘Connext DDS’ as the framework for the software upgrade. 

To be installed at the three radar sites (in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia) over five years, the industry standard software will enhance real time data distribution. 

BAE Systems, Dedicated Systems and RTI are also collaborating to establish HF technology exports opportunities as part of the partnership.