HENSOLDT SPEXER 2000 3D MkIII

The SPEXER 2000 3D MkIII from HENSOLDT (Germany) is an X-band radar with a GaN AESA antenna and pulse-Doppler processing for ground-based air defence and drone defence. It classifies targets by micro-Doppler and is a sensor in Rheinmetall’s Skyranger 30 air-defence system (Bundeswehr army air defence) and in Hensoldt ELYSION and ASUL. It can run vehicle-mounted or stationary.

The radar works in the X-band at 9.2 to 10 GHz. One panel monitors 120 degrees, and three panels give 360 degrees. The antenna weighs 35 kg, and up to 300 targets per 120-degree sector can be tracked. Micro-Doppler uses the modulation of the echo by rotating rotor blades to tell drones from birds. An instrumented range of 40 km (single beam) is the radar’s technical reach, not a detection range for drones; that depends on target size.

Radars transmit too: in Germany every use of a frequency needs an assignment from the Bundesnetzagentur (Section 91(1) TKG). How frequency use is regulated in Poland has to be clarified with the competent authorities before deployment. Jammers may be operated only by authorities in Germany and Poland (Section 91 TKG, Article 42 of the Polish Electronic Communications Law).

In selection, the detection range for one’s own drone class has to be requested; the instrumented range says nothing about it. Three panels at 35 kg of antenna weight each demand a load-bearing structure. Classification rests on software, which needs continuing upkeep for new drone types and interference-heavy environments. For vehicle installation, north alignment, tilt calibration and heat removal from the GaN electronics are checkpoints. Cameras complement the radar for identification.