AIR2025 – PHASE 6
JORN FACILITIES UPGRADE
The Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) is a connected series of three remote over-the-horizon radars located in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
This critical defence system provides wide-area surveillance at a range of 1,000 to 3,000 kilometres and plays a vital role in supporting air and maritime operations, border protection, disaster relief and rescue operations to the Australian Defence Force and various other government agencies.
JORN works by refracting high-frequency electromagnetic waves off the ionosphere to ‘see’ objects thousands of kilometres away that are invisible to conventional ‘line-of-sight’ radars due of the curvature of the earth.
In March 2018, BAE Systems won the contract to lead an upgrade worth A$1.2B (AIR2025 Phase 6), being the largest since it was accepted into service in 2003.
In 2021, BAE systems partnered with QuantX Labs under contract to develop our Cryoclock technology for inclusion on the radar network. Four Cryoclock systems will be installed to JORN within the next two years.