Offutt receives new bird radar system

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  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  While their goal of zero bird strikes may not actually be attainable, that hasn't stopped the Offutt Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard team from trying.

Recently the BASH team added a brand new MERLIN SS200m Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar System to their tool box to give them an even better chance of reaching their goal.

"Offutt and the 55th Wing Safety office are once again leading the way for the Air Force and Department of Defense with their aggressive use of technology and analysis," said Maj. Dan Converse, 55th Wing Safety chief of flying safety. "With our new system, the real-time data it provides, and careful analysis of the new data, we hope to identify when the bird threat reaches a threshold where a bird strike becomes likely."

The $500,000 system includes special hardening and construction as well as a heavy-duty frame, redundant electronics and military specification level design and components.

"Through our strong cooperation and innovative ideas, the Air Force Safety Center purchased the radar and delivered it for zero cost to the wing," said Lt. Col. Alessandro Bruzzano, 55th Wing Safety.

The new solid state radar replaces a magnetron-based radar that was installed in 2009. The BASH team had to replace a magnetron every 3,000 hours, or roughly every six months, on the older system.

"A solid state radar system transmitter has a minimum time between failures (MTBF) of 50,000 hours or greater than 11 years of operation," Converse said. "This translates to reduced maintenance hours and spare part costs over the lifetime of the system."

Converse also said the solid state radar provides significantly improved detection ranges for standard targets at lower peak power than conventional magnetron based radar.

"The new displays also provide the user with enhanced fused data that allows for quicker, more accurate assessments of the current BASH condition," he said. "The system also provided the safety office the capability communicate and share data with other systems on the MERLIN network."

Converse added that the upgraded system allows for the data that is collected to be analyzed with a fidelity that was unattainable with the previous system.

"The new system automatically creates charts and reports that are emailed to safety office for review and action," he said.

While the new radar does vastly increase the BASH team's capabilities, it is only part of the process. The entire group, which is made up individuals from the United States Department of Agriculture along with active duty members of the Air Force and the Air National Guard, work closely together to keep Offutt's flyers safe.

"The MERLIN is a tool to identify where the BASH risks are concentrated and allows the (supervisor of flying) and tower personnel to warn aircraft of the strike potential," Bruzzano said. "The data that safety receives will also allow us to pinpoint 'hotspots' on the airfield and in the surrounding areas for habitat modification and harassment."

The final piece of this new acquisition will take place this spring when a new concrete pad will be installed giving the radar an even better look across the runway.

The MERLIN SS200m Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar System is also being used at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, and Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.