The Telecommunications Engineering Study Program Develops Passive Radar Technology for Detecting Aircraft

BANDUNG, itb.ac.id – As a technology-focused university, the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) continues to strive to develop new technologies that meet current needs. One such technology, recently developed and first introduced in Indonesia, is passive radar technology for aircraft detection.

This passive radar technology is the work of the Expertise Group (KK) Telecomm Engineering at the School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics ITB (STEI ITB) in collaboration with PT. LAPI ITB and the Research and Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense. This research was led by Dr. Joko Suryana, ST., MT. with the aim of detecting foreign aircraft crossing national borders illegally.

In this regard, the radar design was designed with a transportable concept so it can be transported to remote areas without the need for additional transport vehicles. The system is currently in development and has not yet been commercialized, but will be tested in collaboration with the National Air Defense Command (Kohanudnas).

Radar itself is an abbreviation for Radio Detection and Ranging, and is divided into two types: active radar and passive radar. The difference between the two lies in how they detect targets: active radar can emit its own signal, while passive radar only acts as a receiver.

The time required to create an aircraft detection radar system like this is certainly not short. When interviewed by ITB Public Relations Reporter, Ahmad Izzuddin, a representative from the radar technology development team explained that the system's development process began in 2017 and continued until 2020. The plan was for a functional demonstration of the passive radar system that had been developed at the end of 2019. The total four years were used for system testing, and if it runs perfectly, the radar will be ready for use in 2020.

"The difficulty may lie with some COTS devices, which must be purchased from abroad because they are not yet available in Indonesia. Furthermore, these devices still need to be developed further at ITB, as purchasing ready-to-use devices is very expensive," said Izzudin, a lecturer at ITB's School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (STEI).

On the other hand, he added, there are parts the team can develop in-house, such as the antenna. The team doesn't purchase the antenna directly during the passive radar development process; it certainly requires design and testing to verify its capabilities. "Perhaps that's one of the reasons why it took so long to develop this system," he said.

However, according to Izzuddin, this should actually encourage students to continue their work. "I think seeing a situation like this should actually encourage students and academics in Indonesia to continue creating, so that they eventually won't need to buy equipment from abroad. All equipment can be obtained in Indonesia and is authentically made in Indonesia," Izzuddin concluded.