Silentium Defence to provide passive radars for Australia's JABMS

A deployed Maverick M8 radar developed by Silentium Defence. Silentium will collaborate with Lockheed Martin to deliver undisclosed variants from its Maverick suite of radars for Australia's Joint Air Battle Management System. (Silentium Defence)

Adelaide-based Silentium Defence will supply its passive radar sensors for Australia's Joint Air Battle Management System (JABMS) being developed under Project Air 6500 Phase 1.

Silentium's chief technology officer Simon Palumbo told Janes on 30 August that the company will provide “multiple variants from its Maverick passive radar suite as part of the Air 6500 solution”.

“Due to the iterative nature of the contract, the number [of radars that Silentium will provide for the JABMS] is evolving,” Palumbo said.

Silentium will collaborate with Lockheed Martin, which has been selected as the strategic partner to lead the second tranche of Project Air 6500 Phase 1, to deliver the radars and integrate them with other components of the JABMS, the company said in a media release on 29 August.

Palumbo told Janes that the Maverick radars provide persistent surveillance without compromising the host's electromagnetic signature, thereby increasing survivability.

“[Silentium's radars] range from highly mobile tactical systems through to deployable strategic long-range early warning systems for integrated air and missile defence,” he said

“[The Maverick radar systems] will be complementary to the other sensor types in [Lockheed Martin's solution for Project Air 6500 Phase 1] and we are actively exploring distributed passive radar networks that will provide a cost-effective, covert, and comprehensive situational awareness picture to contribute to the broader [JABMS],” Palumbo added.

Palumbo declined to provide more information about the radars that will be delivered for the JABMS.