Factory Acceptance Test of first Baseline 7 STIR 1.2 EO Mk2

On 9 and 10 February we performed the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) of the first ‘Baseline 7 STIR 1.2 EO Mk2’ in the presence of the customer. Erik Krabbenborg, Product Program Manager: “The team is very happy with the positive outcome of the FAT. There are still a few non-conformances that will be solved before the radar is handed over for operational service to the customer.”

Baseline 7

This is the first FAT with the new STIR, the 1.2 EO Mk2 BL7. About the differences between the previous version and the new one, Nardo Laclé, Product Manager Fire Control says: “The improvements include the introduction of a cable drum replacing the rotary joint, the use of the new Cooling Cabinet replacing the old one and a cleaner fluid unit instead of a water tank. This means an improved maintainability and lower lifecycle costs for the user. And since these items come from our Mirador and surveillance radars, it increases the standardization for us. In addition, the servo cabinet has been modified to comply with the latest safety standards. And finally, the optional capability to guide ESSM missiles, is currently being developed. We can now offer STIR 1.2 CW in combination with the new CWITX transmitter to support missile engagements instead of only gun fire control support.”

STING EO

About 30 years ago, STIR 1.2 was born under the name STING EO. Jaap Dekker was the first product manager. He remembers: “In 1991 we had our Lirod radar with a 60 cm antenna for gun fire control and we had the STIR 1.8 with a 180 cm antenna for missile guidance. A group of engineers concluded that this could be improved upon: a fire control radar with a 120 cm antenna for both gun fire control and missile guidance would be ideal. It didn’t take long for them to build a prototype. We called this radar STING EO. In 1992, we received the first contract from the Navy of Oman. Since then, more than 18 other navies from almost every continent followed. Over time STING EO became STING EO Mk2, which was rebranded later to STIR 1.2 EO Mk2 to emphasize it being a member of the STIR family of fire control radars.”

More to come

“This STIR 1.2 EO Mk2, the 101th, is for an undisclosed NATO Navy”, adds Nardo. “And, we certainly won’t stop now. We are working on more STIRs following this one and I am certain we will sign more contracts for this amazing product. In my opinion, STIR 1.2 EO Mk2 has become such a huge success thanks to the combination of the dual band design and our very sophisticated track processing algorithms, resulting from many years of experience and improvements. This improves detection and accuracy for all kinds of threats. And the use of fully solid-state transmitters (opposed to TWTs) greatly enhances reliability. It’s the best product in the market.”