Radar trial to watch Torres Strait

http://australianit.news.com.au/arti...E15306,00.html

MAY 05, 2005

A NEW radar surveillance system to boost protection against drugs, disease,
illegal immigration and fishing is being trialled in Torres Strait.

Defence Minister Robert Hill and Justice and Customs Minister Chris Ellison
said the new over-the-horizon high frequency surface wave radar (HFSWR)
would allow defence and Coas****ch to better monitor Australia's northern
coastline, particularly the Torres Strait area. The strait is sensitive
because of its closeness to Papua New Guinea.

Senator Ellison flew to north Queensland today for the handover of the $23
million radar by contractor Daronmont Technologies. He said the trial would
run for two to three years to evaluate the surveillance potential of the
radar.
HFSWR can detect surface vessels and low-flying aircraft beyond the visible
horizon, unlike conventional radars which are limited to line-of-sight
operations.

"This technology has the potential to deliver 24-hour wide-area coastal
surveillance of aircraft, ships and boats travelling in the Torres Strait,"
he said in a statement. "It also has the potential to provide early storm
warnings and to protect offshore oil and gas installations, if further
developed and deployed."

The ceremony was attended by Torres Strait community representatives and
executives from Daronmont Technologies.
The project required an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) under the 1998
Native Title Act in 1998.

Senator Hill and Senator Ellison signed ILUAs with the Dauan and Badu Island
communities in February 2004, allowing construction of the radar facilities
on the two Torres Strait Islands. A 440m-long receiver array is on Dauan
Island in the northern Torres Strait and the transmitter is on the
uninhabited Koey Ngurtai (Pumpkin) island, north of Badu Island in the
middle of Torres Strait. The HFSWR technology was developed by the Defence
Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO).

Daronmont Technologies is a wholly Australian-owned enterprise specialising
in design, engineering, integration and support of complex high technology
electronics systems. Opposition defence and homeland security spokesman
Robert McClelland said while Daronmont and DSTO were to be commended for
their work, there was still more for the government to do on border
protection and stopping illegal fishing. AAP