Keven Hughes to Supply SharpEye Radar For Philippines Navy’s Frigates

Kelvin Hughes is to supply Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) two SharpEye navigation radars along with multifunction bridge radar displays for the Philippine Navy’s Frigate Acquisition Project (FAP).

The Philippine Navy FAP was awarded to HHI in October 2016 to build two 2,600 ton frigates for hand over starting in 2020.

The new naval vessels for the Philippine Navy are expected to be operable in up to Sea State 5 and also have stealth characteristics. The vessels (hull numbers P159 and P160), will be further complemented by the low Radar Cross Section (RCS) design of the upmast SharpEye radar sensor carbon fibre housing and antenna turning unit.

In addition the radar offers the reduced probability of intercept by ESM equipment characteristic inherent from the SharpEye’s 300W low power output further aligns to the requirements derived from the HHI HDF-3000 frigate design.

The SharpEye radar systems deliver an advanced pulse-compressed Doppler navigation and situational awareness capability that can provide early warning not only of the presence of larger vessels but also small targets and asymmetric threats with a low RCS such as RHIBs, small wooden boats, USVs and jet skis.

Operating in I and E/F Band, the new radar will enable the ships to distinguish between genuine targets and environmental clutter even in the most adverse weather conditions.

SharpEye transmits a low power, patented pulse sequence enabling short, medium and long range radar returns to be detected simultaneously. Doppler processing of radar returns provides coherent information concerning a target’s velocity and ensures the detection of very small and slow moving objects.

Through a series of electronic filters, SharpEye is able to distinguish between targets of interest and clutter whilst customisable waveforms can be configured for specific threats and to detect specific targets such UAVs, drones and helicopters.