Airport Security White Paper Published by Blighter Surveillance Systems

  • White paper highlights how radar is being implemented by many airports (such as at London Heathrow) to combat ‘backdoor’ threats resulting from relatively low levels of perimeter security
  • Airport Security white paper includes comparison between low-cost mechanically scanned radars and solid state electronic scanning radar systems; assesses AESA and PESA technologies, and discusses the growing trend towards integrated radar/camera solutions

Cambridge, UK, June 25, 2015 – Blighter Surveillance Systems (www.blighter.com), a British electronic-scanning radar and sensor solution provider, has published an Airport Security white paper highlighting how radar is being implemented by many airports to combat the growing ‘backdoor’ threats posed by relatively low levels of perimeter security.

Written by radar industry veteran Mark Radford, the white paper highlights how attention at tier one and tier two airports is turning from the strict levels of security employed for passenger screening to safeguarding the perimeter. This renewed focus is being driven by the continued targeting of aviation by terrorist groups worldwide as well as by the ongoing threat from political activists, stowaways and unwanted intruders.

The white paper includes a comparison between low-cost mechanically scanned radars and solid state electronic scanning radar systems. It briefly assesses the advantages and disadvantages of active (AESA) versus passive (PESA) electronically scanned array technologies, and it highlights the growing trend towards airports introducing integrated radar/camera solutions – as is the case at London Heathrow.

Peter Hanlon, airports sales manager, Blighter Surveillance Systems, said: “The flat and open nature of airports allows perimeter surveillance radars (PSRs) to be effectively deployed to deliver improved intruder detection in all weather, 24 hours a day. PSRs also offer considerable operational cost savings when compared to using CCTV and large numbers of security personnel.”

The white paper also lists the ideal radar attributes for surveillance at airports and stresses that Doppler processing is absolutely essential to the cluttered airport environment as it enables the operator to discern smaller, slow moving targets such as intruders on foot from larger and faster objects such as taxiing aircraft or support vehicles.

The Airport Security white paper can be downloaded here.

A high resolution photograph of Peter Hanlon can be downloaded here.

Blighter radars are in use at several major international airports in Europe, United States, South America and Africa. In the UK, a Blighter radar/camera surveillance system already forms part of the perimeter security solution at Heathrow airport. A typical Blighter airport configuration consists of the Blighter B400 Series passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar, BlighterView HMI software, and slew-to-cue PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) thermal imaging surveillance camera systems. The BlighterView HMI based command and control system displays and records all these elements including additional sensors such as a perimeter intruder detection system (PIDS).

For more information about the integrated Blighter perimeter security radar and camera solution or other products from Blighter Surveillance Systems, please visit www.blighter.com, telephone +44 1223 491122 or email [email protected].

About Blighter Surveillance Systems (www.blighter.com)

Blighter Surveillance Systems is an electronic-scanning radar and sensor solution provider delivering an integrated multi-sensor package to systems integrators comprising the Blighter electronic-scanning radars, cameras, thermal imagers, trackers and software solutions. Blighter radars combine patented solid-state Passive Electronic Scanning Array (PESA) technology – utilising digital beamforming (DBF) on transmit and receive – with advanced Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) and Doppler processing to provide a robust and persistent surveillance capability and an unmatched combination of high reliability, accuracy and performance with a low cost of ownership. Products are manufactured under a BS EN ISO 9001:2008 certified management system. Blighter Surveillance Systems is a Plextek Group company, a leading British design house and technology innovator, and is based at Great Chesterford on the outskirts of Cambridge, England.

Media contacts:

Martin Brooke (for Blighter)
Martin Brooke Associates
Tel: +44 1223 882174
Email: Martin Brooke

Nick Booth
Blighter Surveillance Systems
Tel: +44 1223 491122
Email: Nick Booth