BEL Battle Field Surveillance Radar
Encyclopedia
The PJT-531 Battle Field Surveillance Radar- Short Range (BFSR-SR) is a man portable 2D short range Battle Field and Perimeter Surveillance
Perimeter Surveillance Radar
Perimeter Surveillance Radar is a class of radar sensors that monitor activity surrounding or on critical infrastructure areas such as airports, seaports, military installations, national borders, refineries and other critical industry and the like...

 Radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 developed by the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The BFSR has been designed by DRDO's Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

-based laboratory, the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment
Electronics and Radar Development Establishment
Electronics and Radar Development Establishment is a laboratory of the Defence Research & Development Organization . Located in C.V. Raman Nagar, Bangalore its primary function is research and development of Radars and related technologies....

 (LRDE) and is being manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited
Bharat Electronics Limited
Bharat Electronics Limited is a state-owned electronics company with about nine factories, and few regional offices in India. It is owned by the Indian Government & primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces.BEL is one of the eight PSUs under Ministry of...

 (BEL).

BFSR has found use in the Indian border areas, especially along the Line of Control
Line of Control
The term Line of Control refers to the military control line between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which, to this day, does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary but is the de facto border...

 (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...

 to prevent infiltration. Over 1100 units are in use by the Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

. Foreign Countries have also placed orders for the BFSR.

Over 1,400 BFSRs are now being used by the Army against moving surface targets. A BFSR radar that offers foliage penetration is under development.

Development

In the aftermath of the Kargil War
Kargil War
The Kargil War ,, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control...

, and with the heightened levels of infiltration, the Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

 started looking at electronic sensors to augment the surveillance capabilities. One of the technologies identified was a small, surveillance radar, and the Army projected its requirements to LRDE shortly after. Sanction was given to DRDO to develop an indigenous radar. In the meantime, some Battle Field Surveillance radars (SR) were imported from Israel at a cost of 80 Crores, pending completion of the project. This accompanied a large-scale induction of high tech equipment for the Indian Armed Forces
Indian Armed Forces
The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. They consist of the Army, Navy and Air Force, supported by three paramilitary forces and various inter-service institutions such as the Strategic Forces Command.The President of India is...

.

The radar was designed and developed by LRDE, a DRDO unit, and manufactured by BEL
Bharat Electronics Limited
Bharat Electronics Limited is a state-owned electronics company with about nine factories, and few regional offices in India. It is owned by the Indian Government & primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces.BEL is one of the eight PSUs under Ministry of...

. Initiated in 2000, the development was carried out in LRDE, with the Project Director being Dr. S. Varadarajan, and with BEL collaboration. The project was a systematic example of concurrent engineering, with the production agency involved through the design and development stage. This enabled the design to be brought into production quickly. A salient feature of the BFSR programme was the high level of involvement of the Indian private sector, a first for defence programmes in India. Private firms supplied the rotational assembly and tripod, the Control and display unit as well as electronics assemblies after design and technology transfer by LRDE. This has continued into the substantial production run.

The radar was ready for trials in early-2002, and after extensive trials in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

 and Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...

, it was accepted in July 2002, 24 months after development work commenced.

Description

BFSR is a man portable
Man portable radar
Man-portable radar is a lightweight surveillance radar system that it does not require vehicle support to transport or operate. Man-Portable radar was developed to introduce radar to remote areas where vehicle support is not feasible.-Blighter B202 Mk 2:...

, lightweight, battery operated, surveillance radar. Weighing around 30 kg, it can be carried and operated by two or three man teams.

The BFSR is a fully coherent Pulse Doppler radar, operating with a 10% duty cycle
Duty cycle
In engineering, the duty cycle of a machine or system is the time that it spends in an active state as a fraction of the total time under consideration....

, and a 5W peak power. The low peak power provides the radar a Low Probability of Intercept
Low probability of intercept
A low-probability-of-intercept radar is designed to be difficult to detect by passive radar detection equipment while it is searching for a target or engaged in target tracking...

 (LPI), making it difficult to detect by enemy sensors. The radar operates over 21 channels in J band
J band
J band can refer to two different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, in the radio and near-infrared.-Radio:The J band is the range of radio frequencies from 10 GHz to 20 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between...

 (10 to 18/20 GHz). It can be operated in all weather conditions, and during day and night.

BFSR-SR components include a mounting tripod, an antenna/electronics assembly, two 24 V batteries for power, and an integrated control and display unit (CDU). Targets are classified automatically using Doppler target classification, with output Doppler return being channelled to the operator through headphones for the Doppler audio.

The radar operates on two rechargeable 24 V batteries, which are carried separately by the soldiers. They can also be operated from AC supply. The batteries are usually suspended from the tripod to provide extra stability to the radar, although they can be kept separately.

Radar array and hardware

The radar array consists of J-band Transmit, receive and processing modules within the single array block. The signal processor is a single on-board FPGA-based chip, which has been tailored for very low power consumption. The antenna array is made up of microstrip patch array antennas. The transmitter is a solid state transmit module, while the separate receiver is a super-heterodyne type receiver.

The radar algorithm incorporates Digital Pulse compression
Pulse compression
Pulse compression is a signal processing technique mainly used in radar, sonar and echography to increase the range resolution as well as the signal to noise ratio...

 Technology, which improves the LPI characteristics, as well as making the radar more accurate. This technology was developed in-house by LRDE, which constituted a major breakthrough for Indian radar technology.

Display

The BFSR processing and display units, and control functions are integrated on a single, touch sensitive, portable IBM PC, called the Control and Display Unit (CDU). Some processing elements are also built in to the radar. The processed information is displayed on a high resolution 10.4" LCD colour display.

The PC operates on a Windows NT-based, menu driven user interface, which makes operating the BFSR extremely simple.

A high resolution, north oriented, coloured radar picture is displayed on PC display. The radar display can either be in a Plan position indicator
Plan position indicator
The plan position indicator , is the most common type of radar display. The radar antenna is usually represented in the center of the display, so the distance from it and height above ground can be drawn as concentric circles...

s (PPI) display, or a B-Scope display. The display also has provision for digital geographic map overlay, which allows the target data to be integrated with tactical data for use by ground forces and commanders. Different geographical maps can be overlaid on the radar display. A target position can be marked for further investigation, or combing of the area by ground forces.

The interface between the radar and the CDU can be either RS232C or LAN connectivity. A light weight, rugged, standard army 2-wire field cable is used for communicating between the radar and CDU. This allows the operators to be positioned up to 100 m away from the radar, in the safety of trenches, bunkers, or hides. This provides them better security and safety, and allows for greater flexibility in deploying the radar at suitable spots to meet technical and tactical requirements. The use of wired interface also provides a better security from interception and lower noise, and does not require the radar and CDU to be within Line-of-Sight of each other.

Networking

The BFSR has a COTS
Commercial off-the-shelf
In the United States, Commercially available Off-The-Shelf is a Federal Acquisition Regulation term defining a nondevelopmental item of supply that is both commercial and sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, and that can be procured or utilized under government contract...

- based built in networking and sensor fusion to increase the effectiveness of surveillance. Up to 10 radars may be networked at one time to provide greater area of coverage. All radars in a network can also be remotely controlled from a central hub.

Provision to Network various radars for wider area coverage has also been built into the BFSR.

Thermal imager

A third generation thermal imager
Thermography
Infrared thermography, thermal imaging, and thermal video are examples of infrared imaging science. Thermal imaging cameras detect radiation in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum and produce images of that radiation, called thermograms...

 has also been configured for use on the BFSR and has been integrated with it (as shown in the image in the infobox). Operating in the Mid-wavelength Infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...

 (MWIR) spectrum (3-5 micrometre wavelengths), the imager has a single field of view (monocular sighting) This has given the BFSR day and night viewing capability. All BFSR data and images, both radar as well as thermal data are combined and displayed on the common control and display unit (CDU). Thus, the radar can integrate its display with IR sensor output, which improves the overall efficacy of the system.

The radar continues to progress further in terms of integration with more features being added. To aid in sensor fusion
Sensor fusion
Sensor fusion is the combining of sensory data or data derived from sensory data from disparate sources such that the resulting information is in some sense better than would be possible when these sources were used individually...

, and increase the effectiveness of surveillance, newer variants are also being networked with the Indian Army's Hand-held Thermal Imagers (HHTIs) for visually tracking targets detected by the radar.

Operation

The BFSR has been designed for fast deployment, with a setup time of less than 5 minutes. The radar has an inbuilt GPS for self location and alignment with the digital map. It also has a built-in digital magnetic compass which can automatically align the radar to the North. This ensures that the precise location of targets is measured.

Modes of operation

The radar can be operated in various modes - Surveillance/Scanning ("Search"), acquisition, tracking/classification mode. The radar can also be operated manually, or put into an automated "Standby" mode. BFSR also has integrated calibration and maintenance modes, which aids in easy maintenance and testing on the field. Additionally, the radar also contains a built-in training simulator, which aids in the training of operators without the need to extensive training facilities. Further training modules can be easily loaded on to the PC.

The built-in test equipment (BITE) on the BFSR aids in increasing reliability and allowing for easy calibration and fault detection of the radar on the field.

The various modes are remotely configurable from the CDU by the operator, which allows for different modes of operations without any physical changes on the BFSR, and without needing the operator to expose himself to any danger. The operation can also be remotely controlled for networked radars.

In scanning mode, the radar can scan around a specified sector looking for any moving objects. It is also capable of "Track-while-Scan" (TWS) operation, and can track 50 targets in TWS acquisition mode. The speed of scan can also be adjusted by adjusting the speed of the antenna's rotation to either a low, medium or high rotational speed.

If a target is found, the operator can choose to track that target in the dedicated tracking mode. The Doppler return from the target is then processed, and fed into the operator's headphones to aid in classification. A classification algorithm in the radar also automatically classifies the into crawling target, single moving target, group of men, light vehicle, heavy vehicle and helicopter.

The radar can also be vehicle or mast-mounted, to increase the detection capabilities. For mobility, better range, and for overcoming obstructions and ground reflection, a vehicle mounted version of BFSR has been developed. The radar array is mounted on a 6 meter long telescopic mast on a jeep or truck platform.

Applications

BFSR is designed keeping in mind the requirements of border surveillance and intruder detection. Thus, it is an ideal tool for border surveillance and protection. It can also be used for battlefield surveillance and intelligence gathering by scouts, forward observers and Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...

 units. It can also be used as a low-cost solution for detection of low flying helicopters and boats by smaller infantry units, enabling in better protection in the absence of larger air-defence radars.

The BFSR has been mainly used by the Indian Army for surveillance of designated areas and borders, for the prevention of infiltration and illegal immigration. It can also be used for perimeter surveillance and protection of sensitive sites, industrial facilities, power plants and similar sites.

Status

BFSR-SR is currently being used extensively by the Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

, which has employed it in the border areas with Pakistan and Bangladesh for surveillance and prevention of infiltration. In 2004, 1176 units were ordered by the Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

 for . 551 Crores (USD 125 mn) and were delivered within 18 months. the Indian Border Security Force
Border Security Force
The Border Security Force is a border patrol agency of the Government of India. Established on December 1, 1965, it is one of the Central Armed Police Forces. Its primary role is to guard India's international borders during peacetime and also prevent transnational crime...

 has also inducted these radars for border surveillance.

Foreign sales

BEL is heavily promoting the BFSR as a major product to foreign customers in order to improve its international defence presence. At . 40-50 lakhs per unit, the BFSR costs a third of the price of comparable western systems. Officials have also stated that the BFSR has several superior features compared to radars from competing firms, such as Thales
Thales
Thales of Miletus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Asia Minor, and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition...

 (France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

), Elta
Elta
ELTA Systems LTD is an Israeli provider of defense products and services specializing in radar, C4ISTAR, RF, SIGINT and EW products.Elta, a group and subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, is one of Israel's major defence electronics companies specializing in a variety of fields...

 (Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

), BAe
Bae
Bae, also often spelled Pae or Pai, is a unique Korean family name. The South Korean census of 2000 found 372,064 people by this surname, or slightly less than 1% of the population....

 (UK), Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...

 (USA) and AMS (Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

).

The BFSR has also notched up foreign sales, with Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 ordering 100 units and Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

 ordering 10 radars. In fact, Indonesia was the first customer to receive the radars, even before the Indian Army. Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

 has also bought some radars for trials. BEL is looking at Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan and some other countries for potential sales. There have been serious sales enquiries from at least 5 countries. BEL is in the process of offering the product for field evaluations in other countries.

Operators

- Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

 (1176 units).
- Border Security Force
Border Security Force
The Border Security Force is a border patrol agency of the Government of India. Established on December 1, 1965, it is one of the Central Armed Police Forces. Its primary role is to guard India's international borders during peacetime and also prevent transnational crime...

 (BSF) (~100 units) (10 units) Bought for trials

Range

  • Detection Range:
    • Crawling man: 500 m
    • Walking man: 2 km (1.2 mi)
    • Group of people: 5 km (3.1 mi)
    • Light vehicle: 8 km (5 mi)
    • Heavy vehicle: 10 km (6.2 mi)
  • Range accuracy: 20m rms
  • Range resolution: 50 m
  • Speed: 0.9 m/s to 90 km/h

Azimuth & elevation

  • Elevation Coverage: -40 to +15o (remotely settable)
  • Azimuth sector scan: 30 to 180o
  • Azimuth accuracy: 0.5o rms
  • Azimuth resolution: better than 4o
  • Track while Scan: 50 targets

Technical Specifications

  • Instrumented Range: 18 km (11.2 mi)
  • Frequency Band: J band
    J band
    J band can refer to two different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, in the radio and near-infrared.-Radio:The J band is the range of radio frequencies from 10 GHz to 20 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between...

    , 21 frequencies
  • Transmitter Type: Solid state
  • Receiver Type: Super heterodyne
  • Antenna Type: Micro-strip Patch array

Operation

  • Modes of operation: Surveillance and tracking
  • Target Identification: Using Doppler tones
  • Rotation Rate: Low, Medium, High

Display

  • Control & display unit: Customized, portable, IBM PC, compatible with Windows NT
    Windows NT
    Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement...

     operating system
  • Display type: 10.4" LCD colour
  • Display modes: PPI or B-scope
  • External interface: RS232C, LAN

Power & Reliability

  • Weight: 30 kg (excluding accessories)
  • Power supply: 24 V DC nominal
  • Power consumption: 80 W

  • Operating temperature
    Operating temperature
    An operating temperature is the temperature at which an electrical or mechanical device operates. The device will operate effectively within a specified temperature range which varies based on the device function and application context, and ranges from the minimum operating temperature to the...

    :
    -20 to +55oC
  • MTBF: 1500 hrs
  • Operational Altitude: Up to 16000 feet (4,876.8 m)

See also

  • BEL Weapon Locating Radar
  • Electronics and Radar Development Establishment
    Electronics and Radar Development Establishment
    Electronics and Radar Development Establishment is a laboratory of the Defence Research & Development Organization . Located in C.V. Raman Nagar, Bangalore its primary function is research and development of Radars and related technologies....

  • Man portable radar
    Man portable radar
    Man-portable radar is a lightweight surveillance radar system that it does not require vehicle support to transport or operate. Man-Portable radar was developed to introduce radar to remote areas where vehicle support is not feasible.-Blighter B202 Mk 2:...

  • Perimeter Surveillance Radar
    Perimeter Surveillance Radar
    Perimeter Surveillance Radar is a class of radar sensors that monitor activity surrounding or on critical infrastructure areas such as airports, seaports, military installations, national borders, refineries and other critical industry and the like...


External links

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