Spanish defense contractor Indra announced on May 27 it was awarded a contract to upgrade the Spanish Air Force’s 3D Lanza ground-based air defense radars.
The contract will see the company equip the radars with NATO-standard Mode 5 identification friend/foe (IFF) systems. The majority of NATO allies will retire the Mode-4 and switch to Mode 5 in June 2020.
With this update, the air force will have interrogation capacity in Mode 5 (encrypted), Mode S and ADS-B throughout the national territory. All these identification modes will be integrated with the different air command and control centers that protect Spanish airspace and the southwestern flank of Europe within NATO. The company said the systems are capable of interrogating and identifying an aircraft in flight more than 470 kilometers away.
The contract has a duration of 3 and a half years, and is accompanied by associated logistics support, both in the air surveillance squadrons (EVA) and in the transmission logistics center (CLOTRA). This is to ensure the operability of the systems throughout their life cycle of at least 15 years.
The Spanish Air Force has been operating the 3D long-range LANZA radars since 2000. The multi-scenario, multi-threat adaptive radar leverages planar array, solid state amplifiers and signal processing technology for detection. Indra has also provided a naval version of the radar for the Spanish Navy’s landing helicopter docks.
