Leonardo has received multiple contracts for its Meteor Family of radars in the first half of 2018, through its German subsidiary, Selex ES GmbH. The deals follow the announcement in March of a major contract with Australia which will see the company delivering and installing new S-Band and C-Band weather radar systems throughout the country.
The set of new contracts include a number in Africa, where Selex has been chosen to deliver and install X-Band weather radar systems at airports in Cameroon, Republic of Congo and Madagascar. The systems will be used to detect wind shears, convection and turbulence and provide alerts to air traffic controllers. Here, Leonardo’s ShearScout solution for wind shear detection includes the supply of its Meteor 60DX weather radars.
In the Asia Pacific region, where Leonardo’s ATC capabilities are well established, Selex will supply weather radars and associated systems to customers in Malaysia and Indonesia. In Malaysia, the company will provide three Meteor 60DX weather radars featuring Leonardo’s proprietary Rainbow 5 integrated sensor processing and display software and SmartWx web-based decision support and display system. In Indonesia, the government’s agency for meteorology, climatology and geophysics - Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG) - has chosen Selex to deliver a turn-key software integration project. This will include a national data processing centre covering multiple radars, based on the Rainbow 5 software. The system will initially incorporate 21 radars, later expanding to include more than 60 radars from other suppliers.
In the Americas, Selex secured a contract to install the first Rainscanner weather radar system in Peru. The radar will be used by a Peruvian university for scientific research in the areas of meteorology, climatology, ecology and agricultural development. Notably, the Rainscanner will detect and monitor eco-climactic threats to the northern coast of Peru, particularly relevant in the case of the El Niño, which produces extreme weather conditions in the region. Further north, a customer in Bermuda chose Selex to upgrade its existing S-Band Klystron weather radar system. The currently-installed Meteor 1500S radar will be upgraded to the state-of-the-art Meteor 1700S: an S-Band, Klystron weather radar featuring dual-polarization technology.
In Europe, Selex's longstanding weather radar customers placed further orders. Météo France, the French meteorological service, awarded a framework contract to the Company which could see it supplying up to six S-Band magnetron weather radar systems. The objective is to modernize France’s weather radar network by replacing existing systems in France as well as those in use with its overseas departments. Further north, a customer has placed a framework contract with Selex ES GmbH to supply up to five of the company’s Meteor 735C C-Band magnetron weather radars.
These latest contracts, awarded in competition against a pool of international providers, attest to the Leonardo’s outstanding capabilities in weather radar technology and testify to its position in the weather radar market.
