by Chris Pocock
Singapore expects the delayed delivery of its surveillance radar-carrying aerostat this year, but has not specified when the system will become operational. Eyebrows were raised when the acquisition was announced, because of the island’s crowded airspace and dynamic weather patterns. The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) told AIN that it would “ensure that the system meets our stringent operational and safety requirements,” in line with FAA regulations. The RSAF has been working the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) on these.
Safety issues with aerostats received widespread attention last October when a U.S. Army/Raytheon JLENS 71-meter balloon broke free of its mooring and drifted across Pennsylvania for four hours before coming down. That same month, with less publicity, a British Royal Air Force Puma helicopter crashed after colliding with the tether of a smaller aerostat in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The 55-meter aerostat for Singapore is being supplied by TCOM of the U.S., but the prime contractor and radar supplier is probably IAI-Elta Systems. The Israeli company has supplied the ELM-2083 L-band AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar for at least two large aerostats deployed by India, where fellow Israeli company Rafael was the prime contractor.
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