ROYAL NETHERLANDS AIR FORCE BUYS BIRD RADARS FOR ALL AIR BASES

The Royal Netherlands Air Force has signed a €7M deal with Robin Radar Systems to provide bird radars for bird strike avoidance at all its air bases in the Netherlands.

The Royal Netherlands Air Force has signed a €7M deal with Robin Radar Systems to provide bird

radars for bird strike avoidance at all its air bases in the Netherlands.

Bird strikes on aircraft is a recognised problem in civil aviation. A well-known example is the socalled

‘Miracle on the Hudson’, where a passenger aircraft had to ditch into the Hudson River in

New York.

In military aviation, the problem is even more serious. Especially fighter jets, fly fast, low, and

usually have a single engine. More than ten aircraft have been lost to bird strikes in Dutch airspace

since 1950. A dramatic example is the ‘Hercules Disaster’ in 1996, in which a Belgian Air Force

Hercules crashed after ingesting birds into two engines, killing 34 occupants.

“The Royal Netherlands Air Force has been looking at reducing bird strikes for decades. Air Bases

are made unattractive for birds through both passive (terrain management) and active (bird

monitoring) methods. The bird radars will now act as a third pillar.” Hans van Gasteren, Head of Nature

Bureau at the Royal Netherlands Air Force

One of the driving forces behind the purchase is the coming of the Joint Strike Fighter (F35).

Dutch company, Robin Radar Systems, won the European Tender, and is supplying their bird radar

systems to the Air Force. The contract was signed today (Friday 20 October) by Commodore

Brummelaar, Director of Projects with the Defence Material Organisation, and entrepreneur, Siete

Hamminga, founder and CEO of Robin Radar Systems.

The Hague based company was named in the top three most innovative SMEs and is well on its way

to becoming an international success story.

Following in the footsteps of Schiphol Airport, the airports of Berlin, Frankfurt and Copenhagen

have all ordered bird radars to help prevent bird strikes. In 2016, Robin Radar Systems saw its

revenue quadruple, and with this new contract, that upward trajectory seems set to continue. The

contract signed today is worth €7M.