BAE Systems has been awarded a GBP 95 million Ministry of Defence contract to deliver mitigation solutions aimed at protecting UK air defence radar performance from the impact of offshore wind farms, the UK Defence Journal understands.
The award, made under the NJORD programme, covers the procurement of four mitigation solutions intended to address degradation to the Recognised Air Picture caused by large-scale offshore wind developments. The contract was concluded on 26 February 2026 following a restricted competition that received four bids.
The issue stems from the expansion of offshore wind capacity, which can interfere with air defence radar coverage by reducing the volume of airspace that can be effectively monitored. This has implications for the UK’s ability to detect and track non-cooperative targets and support Quick Reaction Alert operations.
Programme NJORD has been established to maintain radar effectiveness as new wind farms are introduced, focusing on preserving primary surveillance capabilities provided by the RAF’s remote radar network. The work is being managed by Defence Equipment and Support’s Air Defence and Electronic Warfare Systems team.
BAE Systems Surface Ships Limited has been selected as the prime contractor for the effort, with the contract including options for two one-year extensions.
The programme reflects a growing requirement to balance renewable energy expansion with national security considerations, particularly where critical surveillance systems risk being affected by new infrastructure.
IMAGE by Kim Hansen. Postprocessing (crop, rotation, colour adjustment, dust spot removal and noise reduction) by Richard Bartz and Kim Hansen., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Apparently this covers only 4 of our RRH.
Neatishead.
Staxton Wold.
Brizlee Wood.
Buchan.
Very strange that Neatishead requires this system considering part of the reason for relocation there from Trimmingham was to mitigate the interference from the offshore windfarms.
I do not know technical details of this. But I note that Brizlee and Staxton are also some way inland, compared to Trimmingham and Buchan, and all are included.
These radars will see 470 km. Brizlee and Staxton really are not far form the coast. They are on the top of hills. Windfarms are within their radar line of sight. Radar line of sight is about 15% further that visual line of sight in normal radar propagation and can be extended further during ANOPROP, which is a suprisingly regular occurance. This extended range can be so great that distant coastlines, such as the Netherlands, become visible. This brings more windfarms into view and their effects too.
Thanks, Kristian.
Simple solution, buy more Wedgetail AEW or is that too much common sense.
Wedgetail is more for out of area operations. We have lots of radar coverage across UK airspace.
Pop a remote radar for low level coverage on a pole at the edge of the wind farms??
AA
Could you imagine the cost of building a structure on the seabed capable of housing a radar system, then laying the cables to it?
It would have to be capable of resisting corrosion from the salty air too.
If we can only afford 3 Wedgetail for the RAF, we certainly couldn’t afford that.