HFSWR (High-Frequency Surface Wave Radar) is a rapidly-deployed, low-cost system designed to detect and track ships and low-flying aircraft to beyond the 200 nautical mile limit.

Fulfilling a Critical Need
Raytheon and the DoD’s CTDPO (Counterdrug Technology Development Program Office) recently began demonstrating Raytheon’s new technology HFSWR (High-Frequency Surface Wave Radar) for reliable detection of small maritime vessels and low-flying aircraft in support of a critical mission need to protect the littoral waters of the United States against narcotic traffickers or other trans-national threats.

Low-Cost, All-Weather, Beyond Line-of-Sight
Raytheon’s HFSWR is a promising new technology for low-cost, all-weather, accurate and reliable surveillance of surface vessels and low-flying aircraft well in excess of the visible horizon. HF surface wave radars are ideally suited to surveillance of the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone). The technology offers highly autonomous 24-hour-per-day, 7-day-per-week operation with one of the lowest operating costs per unit coverage area of all other radar types. The transportable HFSWR radar system can be assembled and operational in under 2 days. The implementation is highly modular and can be readily integrated with existing surveillance assets from either land or sea.

Surveillance From Land Promises the Lowest Cost
Microwave radars are the sensors traditionally used to establish continuous offshore surveillance.

Shore-based microwave radars operate in line-of-sight mode and cannot detect and track surface vessels and low-flying aircraft much beyond 30 nautical miles.

For surveillance of surface vessels and low-flying aircraft beyond 30 nautical miles, the only alternative up to now has been to operate from shipboard and airborne platforms, where the costs of providing surveillance are very high and 24-hour, all-weather surveillance is simply not practical.

The Only Shore-Based Radar for Beyond-the-Horizon Detection
Unlike traditional shore-based microwave radar, the HFSWR uses vertically polarized HF (High-Frequency) electromagnetic signals that are not limited by the horizon but propagate along the ocean surface. This unique capability allows the HFSWR to be the only shore-based radar system capable of detecting small surface and low-flying targets at tactically significant ranges.

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