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Article: France's unique horizon: is the French Army's MTI-equipped helicopter squadron a rare bird or an odd duck?(moving target indicator)
- Article from:
- Journal of Electronic Defense
- Article date:
- August 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Horizon House Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The main question about the French Army's Horizon helicopter is: What's it for?
Some background. The Horizon--Helicopter Observation and Radar Investigation of Zone--was developed during the Cold War as a sensor for assisting artillery in identifying vehicle targets to engage. The platform is a Eurocopter AS 532UL Cougar helicopter. Three of these aircraft plus two ground stations are organized as the Horizon Squadron, which is attached to the 1st Combat Helicopter Regiment based in Phalsbourg, Lorraine.
The operative sensor is the Thales (Paris, France) Target radar, which is a J-band multimode radar, with its primary mode being a moving-target ...