The SFR Airspace monitoring and management system was the first Airspace monitoring and management system of the

Swiss Air Force The Swiss Air Force (german: Schweizer Luftwaffe; french: Forces aériennes suisses; it, Forze aeree svizzere; rm, Aviatica militara svizra) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914 as a part of the army and ...

History

After the second world war it became apparent that the rapid development of air defense of Switzerland without a comprehensive air surveillance was unrealistic. However, Switzerland lacked knowledge of such systems and the victorious

Allies of World War II The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. ...

restricted both the sharing of knowledge and the sale of new radar equipment. Only the

LGR-1 Radar The LGR-1 (Lightweight Ground Radar 1) was used by Swiss Air Force from 1948 until 1955 for positioning the planned radar air surveillance system. It is now in the Flieger-Flab-Museum at Dübendorf. History This radar of the first generation of ...

was available. It was used to find suitable locations for the radar antennas of the SFR system. The core of the SFR system was the French ER-200 early warning and guidance radar from the Société Française Radioélectrique. The system was ordered on 31 January 1952, in a larger number of radar systems, radar components from which were compiled by its own architecture. From 1955 to 1966, a school complex in

Dübendorf Dübendorf is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is a suburb of Zürich in Switzerland with a population of about 30,000 (2021). It is the fourth largest city in the canton, after Zürich, Winter ...

(the ''Radar Doerfli'' ("Radar village") on the training site Dürrbach

Rüti bei Riggisberg Rüti bei Riggisberg is a former municipality in the district of Seftigen in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On January 1, 2009, the Rüti bei Riggisberg became part of the municipality of Riggisberg.Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

-Belp) and the plants on 4 height locations (mountain peaks) were formed for the first radar aerial surveillance system of Switzerland. The airspace monitoring system also included an aboveground command center in Dübendorf as well as an underground command center on the Tschorren above the

Brünig Pass The Brünig Pass, at an altitude of , connects the Bernese Oberland and central Switzerland, linking Meiringen in the canton of Bern and Lungern in the canton of Obwalden. It is on the watershed between the upper reaches of the Aare, which flows ...

. In these command centers put the data of the radarsites together to a national wide air surveillance picture. From these command centers where also the own aircraft guided by tactical fighter controllers. Ref about KP Dübendorf and EZ-KP in Mount Brünig
/ref> Development of the high locations was difficult and led to delays in the start-up. Experience with

chaff Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...

has already been done and could be considered. However, the recording from flying objects in the area with constant radar echo (for example, in large-scale radar echo of a mountain which is located in the line of sight of the radar behind the flying object) is problematic and could only be improved by improve the electronic components. As such, the SFR system was only in use for about 10 years before it was replaced by the

FLORIDA Airspace monitoring and management system The FLORIDA Airspace Monitoring And Management System was an airspace monitoring and management system of the Swiss Air Force. It was built by Hughes Aircraft Company. It is located in Fullerton, California. History The system was put into oper ...

. An antenna and the model of a height search antenna is in the

Flieger-Flab-Museum The Flieger Flab Museum (English: Swiss Air Force Museum) is located in the Canton of Zurich in Dübendorf on the grounds of Dübendorf Air Base. In the museum, 40 airplanes and helicopters are displayed, with the collection divided into distin ...

Specifications

The radar system operates in S-band ( 2910 - 3350 MHz) and scans with two rotating antennas airspace two-dimensional (by side and distance). A separate height fingering radar is used to measure individually the altitude of selected targets. For the vertical radar coverage, a third radar antenna is required: a double antenna (Back to Back) for the height overlap "deep - medium" in place of the originally planned "Station Couverture Basse". *Magnetronsender: 3200 MHz *Peak power: 500 kW *Pulse width: 1 microsecond *Range: 220 km *Locations: 4 fixed units and one mobile unit *Elements per site: 1 each single antenna Doppler antenna (back to back), height finder antenna, 4 transmitter / receiver, 3 clutter suppression devices MIT

References

Dübendorf * Alber Wüst: ''Die Schweizerische Fliegerabwehr.'' 2011,
SFR ER220 in "Militärische Dänkmäler im Bereich Luftwaffe". Page 13 &14" Zur Geschichte der Radarüberwachung in der Schweiz" 16.January 2017 :de:Walter Dürig (Offizier)
Pages 2–5">:de:Walter Dürig (Offizier)">" Zur Geschichte der Radarüberwachung in der Schweiz" 16.January 2017 :de:Walter Dürig (Offizier)
Pages 2–5br>"Gespräch mit Alfons Haltmeier" 13.September 2013 Walter Dürig Picture of the System on Mount Pilatus (LO) on Page 6 Einsatzzentralen der Luftwaffe 23.Jun 2015 Oberst (aD) Rudolf Wiki , Hinwil Page 27-30

External links

{{Air forces in Europe Swiss Air Force Military of Switzerland Ground radars

History

Specifications

See also

References

External links