The HADR NF project was launched at HENSOLDT in mid-2021 with the aim of supplying four long-range radars for airspace surveillance to the German Air Force. Our TRL-4D LR /ROT (Long Range, Rotator) radars will replace the existing HADR (Hughes Air Defence Radar) systems by 2030. Recently, the first these TRL-4D LR long-range radars was delivered and installed at the ‘Bunker Balduin’ site in Brockzetel, northern Germany.
The preparations
Before the radar could be transported to Brockzetel, several weeks of preparation and planning were required. In March 2026, two heavy-haul convoys set off for Brockzetel, accompanied by escort vehicles and security personnel.
The route had been planned weeks in advance and approved by the local authorities for transport that night. The following morning, the Brockzetel site was transformed into a precisely organised installation site by our HADR team.
Whilst the radar antenna could be safely stored on the Brockzetel site overnight, the oversized slewing ring had to remain in front of the entrance gate until Tuesday morning, when it was finally lifted over the gate onto the site using a heavy-duty crane.
All system components were unpacked and prepared for installation on the steel lattice tower. As the radar system had already been in use for a dry run before, the turntable in particular had to be thoroughly cleaned and resealed.
No sooner had the turntable been fitted than the primary antenna was “hoisted up”. After all, the antenna has a dead weight of approximately 13 tonnes, is more than eight metres wide and four metres high.
The deployment
With the primary antenna secured to the steel lattice tower, the installation work for the day had gone according to plan. The following day, an adapter plate was attached to the primary radar to position the secondary antenna above the primary antenna with the greatest possible precision.
This allowed the team to move on to the final step: the radome assembly. In glorious spring weather with bright sunshine and virtually no wind, the radome was prepared for installation. The radome, with a diameter of more than 13 metres, was positioned over the antennas and finally secured in place.
The origins of the initial installation of a TRL-4D LR radar in Brockzetel date back to autumn 2022, when the idea of an interim solution was conceived to bridge the gap until the completion of the new concrete towers. Following an intensive planning phase, a thorough assessment by the project department at the BAAINBw and the necessary contractual adjustments, a phase of close cooperation began.
In this process, AbgTZg 244 in Brockzetel, the state building authorities, the U5.3 project department at BAAINBw, the Air Force Command and the subcontractors worked hand in hand to implement this solution.