'Passive' Radar Can Give Soldiers Stealth in Urban Battlegrounds.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: DISPATCHES

GEELONG, Australia--An Australian startup is offering a "passive" radar system that can detect flying objects kilometers away without giving away warfighters' positions.

Silentium Defence's patented Maverick technology relies on ambient radio and television waves in the UHF and FM spectrums to search for objects rather than traditional radar technology that blasts out energy and collects the signals that bounce off objects, said James Palmer, CEO of the company based in South Australia.

The problem with traditional radars is that they often require spectrum licenses to operate in most nations, they emit potentially harmful energy to human operators and--perhaps most importantly for warfighters--as soon as they are turned on, their electronic signature and location is revealed to enemies, Palmer said in an interview on the sidelines of Avalon --The Australian Air Show.

"What we do is provide the same information product as a traditional radar--range, bearing, velocity... but we don't transmit. We exploit existing sources of broadcast television, [and] broadcast radio," he said.

That wouldn't work in an area in the middle of the ocean where there are no humans transmitting TV and radio signals, so its applications are in urban environments, he noted.

The...