Find out more about career opportunities at DeTect Read more
- DeTect, Inc. 2817 Hwy 77, Panama City, Florida 32405 USA
- Contact DeTect
Expanding drone operations Beyond Visual Line of Sight requires reliable, real-time airspace awareness. Without it, operators face regulatory barriers, safety risk and operational limitations that prevent BVLOS missions from being approved or scaled.
DeTect’s HARRIER® Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) system provides long-range airspace monitoring with automatic aircraft risk advisories, enabling UAS operators to extend drone operations safely beyond visual line of sight.
Built on DeTect’s proven HARRIER® Airspace Surveillance Radar technology, the system detects both cooperative and non-cooperative aircraft, delivering the real-time airspace intelligence that operators, regulators and safety authorities require for BVLOS mission approval and ongoing operations.
HARRIER® has been used for UAS ground-based detect and avoid (GBDAA) since 2008, with a field-proven record across industrial, military and first responder applications worldwide.
DeTect provides more than radar hardware.
Every HARRIER® BVLOS deployment is supported by DeTect’s integrated detection and display platform, transforming raw radar sensor data into real-time airspace dashboards, risk advisories and operational control.
This integrated hardware and software approach delivers:
HARRIER® provides continuous 360-degree airspace monitoring, combining radar sensing with intelligent software to deliver the situational awareness required for safe BVLOS operations.
Solid-state Doppler S- or X-band radar with a 50,000-hour MTBF scans the surrounding airspace, detecting both cooperative (transponder-equipped) and non-cooperative aircraft at ranges of 20+ miles. Secondary Traffic Advisory System (TAS) and ADS-B interrogators provide additional cooperative aircraft data.
DeTect’s Intelligent Sensor technology automatically classifies detected targets by type, differentiating UAS, drones, ultralights, helicopters and small-to-large conventional aircraft. Optional EOIR camera integration provides cue-to-target visual confirmation.
Automatic risk advisory zones, user-definable as fixed perimeters or UAV-following envelopes, generate real-time alerts when manned aircraft enter controlled airspace. Full remote control and display is delivered to ground stations, wireless devices, smartphones and tablets through secure network and web interfaces.
DeTect HARRIER® BVLOS systems are designed to meet the airspace awareness requirements of commercial UAS operators across industrial, infrastructure, logistics and survey applications.
Where regulatory authorities require demonstrated detect-and-avoid capability as a condition of BVLOS approval, HARRIER® provides the ground-based radar infrastructure to satisfy those requirements and support safe, scalable drone operations.
DeTect HARRIER® BVLOS systems are engineered for military and first responder UAS operations where airspace deconfliction, mission safety and rapid deployment are critical.
HARRIER® supports military UAS operators requiring ground-based detect and avoid capability at airfields, training ranges and forward-deployed locations, as well as law enforcement and emergency services operating drones in shared airspace.
Long-Range Detection – Cooperative and non-cooperative aircraft detection to 20+ miles
Cooperative Detection – Secondary TAS and ADS-B interrogators for transponder-equipped aircraft
Non-Cooperative Detection – Radar detection of aircraft without transponders at extended range
Automatic Classification – DeTect Intelligent Sensor technology classifies targets by type
Multi-Target Capability – Simultaneous detection of UAS, drones and conventional aircraft
Flexible Alert Zones – User-definable fixed or UAV-following risk advisory perimeters
EOIR Integration – Optional cue-to-target camera integration for visual confirmation
Multi-User Display – Real-time display to multiple simultaneous users via secure network
Mobile Access – Real-time airspace information to smartphones and tablets
High Reliability – Solid-state Doppler radar with 50,000-hour MTBF
Flexible Deployment – Fixed and mobile configurations including vehicle and tower installations
Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) refers to drone operations where the UAS flies beyond the range at which the operator can maintain direct visual contact. Regulatory authorities typically require operators to demonstrate a reliable detect-and-avoid capability before granting BVLOS approval. DeTect’s HARRIER® radar system provides the ground-based airspace surveillance needed to detect other aircraft in the operational area and generate real-time risk advisories, satisfying the safety case for BVLOS operations.
The HARRIER® system detects both cooperative (transponder-equipped) and non-cooperative aircraft at ranges of 20+ miles, using solid-state Doppler S- or X-band radar combined with Secondary Traffic Advisory System (TAS) and ADS-B interrogators for cooperative targets.
Cooperative aircraft detection identifies aircraft equipped with transponders, using TAS and ADS-B interrogators to receive and process transponder data. Non-cooperative detection uses radar to detect aircraft that are not transmitting transponder signals, including ultralights, gliders and aircraft with inactive or absent transponders. HARRIER® provides both simultaneously, delivering comprehensive airspace awareness.
Yes. HARRIER® is multi-functional and capable of simultaneously detecting UAS, drones and conventional aircraft including ultralights, helicopters and small-to-large manned aircraft. DeTect’s Intelligent Sensor technology automatically classifies detected targets by type.
Yes. HARRIER® BVLOS systems are available in both fixed and mobile configurations, including custom designs for installation on customer-provided vehicles and for mounting on buildings and towers. Mobile configurations support rapid deployment for field-based and forward-deployed operations.
The system generates automatic risk advisories when aircraft are detected within user-defined alert zones, which can be configured as fixed perimeters or as UAV-following envelopes that move with the drone. Alerts and real-time airspace displays are delivered to ground control stations, wireless devices, smartphones and tablets through secure network and web interfaces.
Yes. HARRIER® provides full remote control and real-time information display to multiple simultaneous users through secure network and web-based interfaces, supporting distributed operations across ground control, operations teams and command personnel.
HARRIER® is available with solid-state Doppler S-band or X-band radar, both with a mean time between failure (MTBF) of 50,000 hours. S-band is preferred where frequency compatibility with existing airport or airfield radar infrastructure is required.
DeTect has been delivering ground-based detect and avoid radar technology for UAS operations since 2008, building on decades of expertise in airspace surveillance, radar engineering and intelligent sensor systems.
The HARRIER® platform draws on the same radar engineering heritage as DeTect’s MERLIN® aviation safety and security systems, combining advanced solid-state radar hardware with DeTect’s proprietary Intelligent Sensor software to deliver accurate, reliable and operationally practical BVLOS capability.
By providing real-time airspace awareness across both cooperative and non-cooperative aircraft, HARRIER® gives UAS operators, military users and first responders the confidence to expand their operational range while maintaining the safety standards required by regulators and airspace authorities.
With HARRIER®, users receive more than a radar system.
DeTect provides comprehensive application support with every BVLOS system deployment, including site assessment and system design, engineering, installation, concept of operations (CONOPS) development, system integration and operator training.
Every system is backed by DeTect’s team of airspace surveillance, radar engineering and UAS operations specialists, ensuring that each deployment is calibrated, compliant and aligned with the operator’s mission requirements throughout its operational life.
HARRIER® systems are available for purchase, long-term lease and short-term rental, with or without DeTect operators, and are backed by a full parts and labour warranty covering the complete system.
HARRIER® systems are available for purchase, long-term lease and short-term rental, with or without DeTect operators and are backed by a full parts and labor warranty that covers the complete system. Since 2003, over 1,000 HARRIER® radar systems have logged over 15 million hours of operating time with an established record of high system uptime, high reliability and low maintenance and repair costs.
