14 Agustus 2020
In his recent visit to Butterworth AFB, the Chief of the Air Force took the opportunity to visit the new site of Air Traffic Control (ATC) radar for the airbase.
Since 2016, upgrade of ATC radar at Butterworth AFB has become among main priorities of the Air Force. ATC radar served to enhance surveillance radar monitoring and separation of air traffic. It essentially complement the Air Force’s air defence radar network as well as civilian ATC radar network.
The Civil Aviation Authorities of Malaysia (CAAM) is currently upgrading the civilian ATC radar network with the installation of Leonardo SIR-S in Mersing, Johor; Langkawi, Kedah; and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang near Kuala Lumpur.
In 2019, Leonardo announced that the military segment of ATC at Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Centre (KLATC) has been upgraded and integrated with the civilian segment of the SIR-S.
Local defence contractor specialising in radar maintenance, Zetro, has been responsible for the upgrade works on the airbase ATC radar as well as another one at Kuantan AFB.
In fact Zetro has also developed its own radar system known as the Melor for such purpose.
(MFH)