2014-02-17 The Australian company, CEA Technologies, has developed an innovative radar for the ANZAC class of frigates which provides significant detection capability throughout its operations and in heavy sea states as well.
It is Australia’s largest majority owned Defence Company.
http://www.cea.com.au/!Global/Directory.php?Location=Home:Home
CEA works with Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems and NGES owns a 49% share of the company.
(For an overview on the company see the following:
http://www.cea.com.au/News+Media/Attachments/2012-0005.pdf).
According to a recent story in the weekend edition of The Australian (February 15, 2014):
LAST year, during a naval exercise off California, a dummy missile fired at an American warship roared through the cruiser’s defences and slammed into its superstructure, starting a fire and injuring two sailors.
The dummy missile, with no warhead fitted, punched a hole half a metre wide in the port side of the guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorville, which returned to port for repairs.
When a similar American missile was fired at the Australian frigate HMAS Perth in an exercise off Hawaii, the Australian crew shot it down using technology developed in the suburbs of Canberra and Adelaide.
The Australian warship – dubbed “Robo-Frigate” by the navy after its exploit – is now considered the most advanced vessel of its class in the world.
Building on the spectacular success of the frigate’s homegrown missile-defence system, Defence Minister David Johnston has invited allied ambassadors for a briefing on it later this month.
Senator Johnston told The Weekend Australian the new technology had proved more effective and less expensive than the best in the world.
Those involved in developing the system say the Americans and several other navies have already shown a keen interest in buying the system, opening up export possibilities for Australian defence technology that could be worth billions.
HMAS Perth was the first of the navy’s eight ANZAC-class frigates to be fitted with the phased array radar and combat-management system, which proved able to defend it even against supersonic, sea-skimming missiles.
HMAS Perth’s commanding officer, Captain Lee Goddard, said the exercise was so realistic that, while the frigate’s crew knew missiles were going to be fired at them, they had no idea when that would happen or what direction the missiles would come.