Defence Online

SharpEye wins for Kelvin Hughes

Maritime February 21, 2017

World leader in the design and manufacture of navigation and security surveillance radar, Kelvin Hughes, has announced a series of contract wins for its SharpEye™ radar system.

Last week, a number of Malaysian contracts were signed, the first of these was with the Royal Malaysian Navy. Kelvin Hughes will provide SharpEyeDoppler radars for each new ship in the Royal Malaysian Navy’s Second Generation Patrol Vessel (SGPV) programme. While the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency has ordered six new coastal patrol vessels, which will be equipped with the latest Kelvin Hughes widescreen navigation radar display along with the new type-approved 12kW X-Band radar and an S-Band SharpEye™ radar.

With equipment for the first two ships was delivered earlier this year, commissioning is anticipated for the first half of 2017.

Kelvin Hughes has also recently supplied Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) for MMEA’s Fast Interceptor Boats.

This week has seen the confirmation of a contract with the Pakistan Navy to supply the I-Band SharpEye™ Doppler submarine radar system. The contract will see the system fitted as part of a mid-life upgrade program for the Pakistan Navy’s Agosta 90B-class, being undertaken by Turkish defence contractor STM. The first submarine will be fitted with the SharpEye™ system in 2018.

Further contract wins have also been secured with the Royal Navy, with Kelvin Hughes continuing to support the Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) by supplying the SharpEye™

Each ship will be equipped with a SharpEye™ I-Band radar for helicopter control and navigation as well as an E/F-Band SharpEye™ radar for navigation and collision avoidance.

The Batch 2 OPV ships have been designed with a Merlin-capable flight deck and a greatly expanded capacity for accommodating troops. They will be available for deployment anywhere in the world to undertake a range of anti-piracy, counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling roles currently conducted by Royal Navy frigates and destroyers.

Most recently, Kelvin Hughes was contracted to supply the Irish Naval Service with SharpEye™ systems for its new fleet of OPVs which are currently under construction.

Barry Jones, Kelvin Hughes’ Regional Sales Manager, said: “SharpEye™ is an ideal choice for these OPV projects. The system provides a 3-in-1 approach with a type approved navigation radar using advanced small target detection, a 2D surface surveillance capability and a helo detection mode to aid rotary aircraft recovery in bad weather; all in one compact radar package. Its scalable architecture allows it to satisfy the requirements of the smaller patrol boat as a primary radar or as a navigation radar and secondary surveillance radar on a larger warship”.

Rohan Dearlove, Kelvin Hughes’ Maritime Sales Director UK & France, commented: “The selection of two more shipsets of SharpEye™ radar under this latest contract is further evidence of the MOD’s commitment to a technological convergence strategy. Similar SharpEye™ radars are already in service with the fleet and significantly more have been ordered for other RN and RFA programmes, such as the fleet wide Navigation Radar Programme and the Tide class tankers. A convergence strategy based on the SharpEye™ navigation radar will deliver significant operational and support related benefits for the MOD”.

More than 25 of the world’s navies now use SharpEye™ radar and displays.

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International Irish Naval service Kelvin Hughes Malaysian Navy OPVs Pakistan Navy radar Royal Navy SharpEye

Post written by: Vicky Maggiani

Vicky has worked in media for over 20 years and has a wealth of experience in editing and creating copy for a variety of sectors.