March 26, 2019 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
German Air Force jumping on passive radar
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — The German Air Force has created a formal acquisition track for passive sensing technology, joining a global military equipment trend that could reshuffle the cat-and-mouse game of radar versus stealthy aircraft. A defense acquisition spokesman told Defense News that the service is working on an “FFF” analysis for passive sensor systems, a technical acronym from deep inside the military-acquisition bureaucracy. Short for “Fähigkeitslücke und Funktionale Forderung,” the process serves to describe a capability gap, derive requirements and eventually tee up an actual investment program. Information about the acquisition status came in a response by the Defence Ministry to Defense News about an event in November that showed the military's keen interest in passive radar. The Luftwaffe and the ministry's defense-acquisition organization had staged a weeklong “measuring campaign” in southern Germany aimed at visualizing the entire region's air traffic through TwInvis, a passive radar system made by Hensoldt. Queries about the results of the demonstration were left unanswered. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/03/22/german-air-force-jumping-on-passive-radar