Austrian air defense

Gold Dome is the term for the military airspace surveillance system in Austria.

History

In the late 1950s, there were initial plans for an Austria -wide air traffic control system. In March 1958, three mobile radar stations were put into operation. The planned location Hochschneeberg for a large space radar station, however, was not realized. This station was built north of Vienna on the Steinmandl ( Leiser Berge ). Starting in 1963, four more mobile devices were used. By the year 1968, the station Kolomansberg (Upper Austria ) has been expanded. The third military radar station is in Carinthia at the highest peak of the Kor, the Great Speikkogel.

When planning for the upgrading of technical systems from 1975 this project " gold dome " was named. The facilities were equipped with new 3D devices ( distance, direction and height measurement).

Since the early 1980s, when the " Gold Dome Project " was completed, overlooks the Austrian airspace control a territory that extends several hundred kilometers in every direction over the Austrian border. This is to allow a timely warning in case of emergency. After the Balkan Wars in a Yugoslav fighter aircraft (pilot: Rudolf Perešin ) ( Slowenienkrise 1991) was unnoticed achieved at low altitude the Klagenfurt airport, also the installation of a low-flying surveillance system was accelerated. This was planned since the 1970s, but was realized only after this event into action and started in 1997, after the delivery and installation of the first such installations in operation.

Construction

The six large-capacity radar stations ( three military primary radar (PSR ) and secondary radar (SSR ) and three civilian SSR stations Austro Control ) with various ranges, together with the six ASR airports ( three military ASR and three civilian ASR), the Multi Radar Tracking ( MTR ) of the system Goldhaube:

  • Fixed radar stations (ORS ), wide area radar: military: Kolomannsberg, Salzburg
  • Steinmandl / Leiser Berge, Lower Austria
  • Big Speikkogel / Koralpe, Carinthia. In severe storms in May 2012, the plant was badly damaged and taken out of service for repairs. The monitoring is done since then on the mobile radar stations MRCS - 403. A restart of the radar station is the earliest scheduled for November 2013
  • Feichtberg, Upper Austria, Lower Austria
  • Buschberg / Leiser Berge, Lower Austria
  • Big Speikkogel / Koralpe, Carinthia
  • Military Brumowski air base in Tulln - Langenlebarn, Lower Austria
  • Aerodrome Hinterstoisser in Zeltweg, Styria
  • Aerodrome Vogler in Hörsching, Upper Austria ( civil co-used from Linz Airport )
  • Flughafen Wien (Vienna International ) in Schwechat, Lower Austria
  • W. A. Mozart Salzburg Airport, Salzburg
  • Graz Airport in Feldkirchen / Kalsdorf bei Graz, Styria (military co-used from the airbase Nittner )

The heart of the air traffic control located in Sankt Johann im Pongau in the operations center base space ( government bunker ). Military- civilian link is the Military Control Center ( MCC). In addition, a compression by mobile radar stations ( 3D radar device Mobile Radar Control System MRCS -403, Selenia ), and made ​​possible by the low-flying aircraft detection radar system Flamingo (TER, Thomson -CSF), the radar battalion ( RADB, Zeltweg / Fh. Hinterstoisser and Aigen in Enns / Aerodrome Fiala remote Brugg ) are assigned.

The system is under the command of air surveillance ( Kdo LRÜ ) in the Schwarzenberg barracks ( Wals near Salzburg ).

Range

The system Gold Dome overlooks an airspace, which extends up to the following countries and areas:

  • West: almost the whole of Switzerland, to about Lausanne
  • Northwest: to the border of Luxembourg
  • North: Berlin in Germany
  • Northeast: Łódź in Poland
  • East: to the Romanian and Ukrainian border; almost all of Hungary
  • Southeast: almost to Belgrade and Sarajevo about addition
  • South: about to Ancona in Italy
  • Southwest: up to and including Ligurian coast (Liguria ) and Genoa as well as to Turin.
Zeltweg Air Base
271587
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