Millimetre wave radar applications to airport surface movement control and foreign object detection

In the recent years, increase in air traffic volume has demanded for new and more stringent safety requirements over the entire gate-to-gate air traffic control regions. In particular, for what concerns airport ground surveillance, congested traffic in parking areas (APRON) ask for new generation of radar sensors having very high resolution during low visibility to discriminate between vehicles and aircrafts, and very high sensitivity to detect small dangerous objects like for instance a baggage. After Concorde accident occurred in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, 25th July 2000, the capability to detect very small objects is became very important on the runway to improve as much as possible the safety during the taking off and landing operations. In addition, after the 11th of September 2001 tragic events, new airport security needs are driving the ground surveillance system requirements by demanding for new type of radar sensors able to be used against new emerging threats like perimeter intruders (i.e. persons, cars, boats,...) . An advanced millimetre wave radar for all three functions, airport surface movements control, foreign object detection (FOD) and perimeter intruders detection (PID), has been developed by Rheinmetall Italia SpA. This radar, named SMART, will be presented in this paper with particular emphasis to some technological aspects inside the antenna assembly and the transmitter unit.