Funded through the BEIS Net Zero Innovation
Portfolio and delivered by MOD, the Defence and Security
Accelerator (DASA) with the support of the Defence Science and
Technology Laboratory (Dstl) have awarded contracts worth
£3.8 million for Phase 2 of Windfarm Mitigation for UK
Air Defence, a competition which aims to develop technologies
that reduce the impact of offshore windfarms on Air Defence (AD)
surveillance.
Offshore wind will play a key role in delivering the net zero
ambition by 2050, with a government commitment to scale it up to
40GW by the end of the decade. To achieve net zero targets, the
UK will need additional offshore windfarms around the UK.
The Windfarm Mitigation for UK Air Defence competition was run
behalf of the Department for Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and undertaken in
partnership with the Royal Air Force (RAF),to
seek ideas from industry and academia to reduce the adverse
impact that windfarms can have on AD and Air Traffic Control
(ATC) surveillance systems.
Technologies that were submitted during the competition include:
- alternative technologies that could reduce radar clutter
caused by offshore windfarms
- improvements to the probability of intruder detection
- the capability to fill or remove gaps in radar coverage
- alternatives to radar
- solutions to the cumulative effect of windfarm development
- metasurfaces applied to, or alterations to the design of, the
wind turbines
- alterations to the initial radar signal or radar station or
processing of the return
Wing Commander Kevin Walton, Co-Chair of the Ministry of
Defence/Offshore Wind Industry Council Air Defence Mitigation
Task Force said:
“Offshore wind will play a major role in achieving our Net Zero
Targets. The technology being developed in this competition will
help the UK achieve its renewable energy targets without
compromising the surveillance of UK airspace.
“In addition, the technology being developed will help boost UK
prosperity, entrepreneurs and innovators by investing in
innovative technologies.
“Phase 2 of this competition develops on the Phase 1 activities
and moves further to identify operational systems that will help
enable the coexistence of offshore windfarms and the UK’s Air
Defence and ATC surveillance systems.”
Aviation and windfarms working together
Seven projects led from six organisations have been awarded Phase
2 funding to fast-track their innovative solutions. The
organisations are:
Advanced Material Development Ltd
Phase 2 Funding: £392,605
Their solution introduces advanced nano-scale Radar Absorbing
Material (nRAM) at the manufacturing stage of offshore windfarms,
ensuring RF absorption is integrated into the base materials of
offshore windfarms.
Saab Technologies UK Ltd
Phase 2 Funding: £599,692
To incorporate Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence
(AI) techniques into air defence radar, providing a trusted air
surveillance picture in noisy and cluttered environments.
Trelleborg Applied Technologies
Phase 2 Funding: £600,000
Their solution is to deliver Frame (Full Radar Absorbing
Materials and Equipment) to mitigate wind turbine radar
interference.
Thales UK Ltd (Project 1)
Phase 2 Funding: £481,019
To design and demonstrate multistatic, staring radar systems
using a validated synthetic environment, to provide continuous
all-weather air surveillance in and around windfarms.
Thales UK Ltd (Project 2)
Phase 2 Funding: £599,970
A solution to synchronise two remote Holographic radars to
demonstrate synchronised multi-static staring radar (MSAR), to
reduce the impact of windfarm clutter and enhance detection and
tracking performance.
LiveLink Aerospace
Phase 2 Funding: £505,938
A solution involving multiple low-cost, multi-role, passive
sensors on the nacelles of wind turbines that can transform the
turbines from being a radar disrupter, to becoming the eyes and
ears of an advanced air defence.
TWI Limited
Phase 2 Funding: £600,000
A solution to develop a novel metasurface manufacturing method
for the mitigation of radar clutter caused by windfarms.
Ensuring the UK can continue to defend its airspace and
the safe flight of aircraft
These solutions will help ensure the continued development of
vital wind turbine sites, without impacting military AD and ATC.
What happened in Phase 1?
This follows on from Windfarm Mitigation for UK Air Defence:
Phase 1, where £2 million worth of contracts were awarded to
Thales, QinetiQ, Saab, TWI and Plextek DTS to fast-track their
ideas for technologies that could mitigate the impact of
windfarms on the UK’s AD radar system.
Phase 1 identified and advanced multiple promising routes for
windfarm radar mitigation, such as new radar signal processing
methods or radar absorbing treatments and applying metamaterials
to control the radar signature of wind turbines. Additional
findings recommended a hybrid approach, involving changes to both
radar and turbine design to solve the problem in the long term.
Phase 2 studies aim to clarify this further. Read more about it
here.
