Ledwood Technology has its roots in radar and it is the heart of most systems.

In small systems there is typically one standard radar (10-12kW with 6' antenna is typical) connected either directly, or via an IRIS radar server, to the operator workstation. The standard offering in this case would be from the GEM SuperNet range of scanners.

As the requirements for performance and resolution increase, so do the options. Typically VTS scanners are sourced from either GEM or Kelvin Hughes with the Mark IV and V commonly specified. These are coupled with a larger antenna for increased target resolution. Systems that use this class of scanner often require more than one; in which case it may be desirable to have one VTS scanner and one or more standard scanners, depending on the physical environment they need to monitor. In this scenario there are several modes of operation. In basic mode the user can choose a scanner to view; this is good when scanners are located in disparate locations (e.g. up a coastline) and it is neither practical nor necessary to view all radars at once.

Where the scanners are located in closer proximity but with the standard scanners being used for 'fill in', they can be operated with a combination of sector blanking from the scanner and display masking - ensuring the 'fill in' scanner does not overlap with the VTS scanner. Alternatively, the images from both scanners can be merged together providing one continuous image.

In coastal surveillance systems it is common to require both multiple and high resolution scanners, in this scenario we can recommend and interface with scanners such as the Kelvin Hughes SharpEye to provide a superior image quality. Using networking and communications technologies, scanners can be deployed in rapid response vehicles with the radar data being relayed via satellite, 3G or other communications infrastructures back to HQ.