Britain's newest radar station at Burrington, near Barnstaple in Devon, went into operation today, on time and on budget. It is the first stage of National Air Traffic Services' ambitious £127 million programme to replace its entire UK radar network by 2012.
Over the next nine years, 19 other radar installations, covering the length and breadth of Britain from Burrington to Sumburgh in the Shetland Isles, will be replaced.
Dr Rob Witty, NATS Chief Technology Officer, commented: "The entry into service today of the new Burrington Radar Station, and the replacement of the 19 other stations, will provide a higher standard of information, greater reliability, and a platform for future collaborative developments. They will also be compatible with future datalinking developments such as Mode S when they enter service later in the decade."
"The new radar network is a critical element of the systems supporting UK air traffic control," Rob Witty continued, "and a key part of NATS' plans to meet the growth in demand outlined in the Government's recent White Paper on Air Transport."
Burrington Radar uses a combined Raytheon primary and secondary surveillance radar installation, surveying the skies over South Wales, the West Country and the Western Approaches. The information is supplied to the London Area Control Centre at Swanwick in Hampshire, and RAF controllers in the Military Air Services Operations Room at West Drayton, near Heathrow.
Future sites to employ Raytheon combination primary and secondary radars are: Alanshill in Aberdeenshire, Belfast, Claxby in Lincolnshire, Clee Hill near Ludlow, Cromer in Norfolk, Debden in Essex, Gatwick, Glasgow, Great Dun Fell in Cumbria, Heathrow, Lowther Hill in Lanarkshire, Pease Pottage near Crawley, Perwinnes Hill near Aberdeen, Sandwick on Stornoway, St. Annes near Blackpool, Stansted, Sumburgh and Tiree. Two sites are planned for completion each year, with Sumburgh and Cromer scheduled for 2004.
