The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is upgrading its weather radar with Honeywell’s IntuVue RDR-7000 on its Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk and Airbus MH-65 Dolphin multimission helicopters. The RDR-7000 uses 3D volumetric scanning to create a real-time view of weather from 0 to 60,000 feet vertically and up to 180 nautical miles in front of the aircraft for typical helicopter applications utilizing a 12-inch antenna. It features fully automated tilt and gain controls, a weather return display, and advanced surveillance of maritime vessels.
The system will replace the Honeywell P701 weather radars currently installed on the helicopters and is comparatively lighter and smaller, and uses less power. The radar is also fully automated and does not require active pilot adjustments of tilt and gain controls for operation which, according to Honeywell, will enable USCG pilots to focus less on radar operation and more on mission execution while operating in challenging weather. The RDR-7000 also provides an advanced “real beam” maritime surveillance mode for detecting seaborne targets on the radar display.
“We are confident that the next-generation weather radar technology provided by the IntuVue RDR-7000 system will significantly enhance USCG mission readiness for the safety and security of the United States,” said Matt Milas, Honeywell president of defense and space.