EMPAR (European Multifunction Phased Array Radar) is a rotating C band multifunction passive electronically scanned array radar that reached

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

in 2006 and was initially built by Selex ES (previously SELEX Sistemi Integrati, since 2016 merged in Finmeccanica, then

Leonardo S.p.A. Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian multinational company specialising in aerospace, defence and security. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, the company has 180 sites worldwide. It is the eighth ...

). It is designed to be the principal radar system aboard naval vessels of medium and large sizes. The radar offers full volumetric search coverage, low altitude and surface search, the tracking of multiple targets, and the capability to uplink information for missile guidance.

Details

EMPAR's principal function is 3D volumetric air search, providing a bearing, range and altitude for air traffic out to ranges of . It is capable of tracking aircraft or smaller targets such as missiles. The system employs a single narrow beam for transmission, plus multiple beams for reception. These can be steered electronically, allowing the EMPAR to scan very rapidly across a wide angle of bearing and/or elevation. It thus provides the simultaneous monitoring of an entire hemisphere. The flat face of the radar is rotated at 60 rpm, allowing it to sweep across the whole sky very rapidly. The system therefore provides an almost continuous 360 degree view, in contrast to earlier rotating radar systems which often took ten seconds or more to sweep the sky. This capability is important to air defence systems given the great speed of modern anti ship missiles such as the

P-270 Moskit The P-270 Moskit (russian: П-270 «Москит»; en, Mosquito) is a Soviet supersonic ramjet powered anti-ship cruise missile. Its GRAU designation is 3M80, air launched variant is the Kh-41 and its NATO reporting name is SS-N-22 Sunburn (one ...

BrahMos The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10)frequency and waveform it is using as necessary. As with all phased array radars it is difficult to

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

or interfere with and can work in the presence of intense

clutter Clutter and its derivations may refer to any of the following: Excessive physical disorder * Clutter, a confusing, or disorderly, state or collection, and possible symptom of compulsive hoarding * Clutter (marketing), numerous advertisements, ...

. EMPAR is compatible with the PAAMS system, providing guidance to

Aster Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...

15 or 30 missiles for medium or long range air defence.

Employment

; Algeria - Algerian National Navy * 1 x BDSL ''Kalaat Béni Abbès'' class French Navy ship Chevalier Paul

; France - Marine Nationale * 2 x ''Forbin''-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s ; Italy -

Italian Navy "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

* 1 x ''Cavour''-class

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

* 2 x ''Andrea Doria''-class destroyers * 1 x Taranto training center

Development

MFRA (Multi Functional Radar Active) EMPAR (European Multifunction Phased Array Radar) is evolved to MFRA (Multi Functional Radar Active), an AESA rotating C band multifunction

active electronically scanned array An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled array antenna in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the an ...

radar built by Selex ES. MFRA is embarked on the Italian FREMM Frigate ''Bergamini'' class (10 units with 10 radar).

References

{{Reflist Military radars of Italy Naval radars Military equipment introduced in the 2000s