RST: Your Needs, Our Solutions
RST (Remote Sensing Technologies) is a 100% privately owned Turkish engineering company with a product-oriented approach, providing products and services in electronics, defence, space and aeronautics industries in the civil and military areas since 2012.
With the implementation of a product-oriented system engineering approach, RST produces rapid and effective solutions for customers in its expertise areas. This approach and its strong and effective managerial and engineering staff helped RST to prove itself as a trusted and preferred partner in the related industries in a short period of time.
RST’s mission is “to develop & manufacture high tech products, especially in Radio Frequency (RF) & Electro-Optical (EO) sensor technologies and Electronic Warfare (EW) systems & simulators areas, regarding civilian and military applications for national and international domain in electronics, defense, space and aeronautics industries and to provide services for these products”. This mission is being accomplished via the projects participated and products developed. RST’s vision for the near future is “to be a trusted and preferred company for both its stakeholders and national/international customers in civilian and military markets, by fulfilling its responsibilities rapidly and effectively with a result oriented approach and by providing products, solutions and services based on genuine and advanced technology”.
The company is located in Hacettepe Technopolis area which is in Hacettepe University campus in Ankara, Turkey. The location of our premises, which is geographically close to Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM), top-tier Turkish defence companies and other renowned technopolises such as ODTÜ (METU) Technopolis and Bilkent Cyberpark, enables RST to have opportunities to collaborate with these institutions and create synergy to meet requirements of these institutions and/or in the relevant industries.
Although RST is a new company, RST has an experienced senior management composed of professionals who have experience of more than 20 years in radar, Electronic Warfare, antennas, sensors and warfare systems. A team with a vast experience in engineering management and project implementation and with a strong commercial background has come together to form RST. As of today, RST executes its operations with an engineering group which has more than 30 engineers in electronics, mechanical, computer software, digital design and electromagnetic fields, with the support of personnel in the areas of Program Management, Contract Management, Quality Management, Configuration Management, Business Development, Finance and Purchasing.
Following the strategic goal which has been set by General Manager as “We have to perform intensive R&D activities for defence industry which I consider the driving force of our national technology and foresee this as the key driver of national economy in very near future.”, RST designs, develops and produces value-added, genuine and high-quality software/hardware/systems with an advanced technology, especially in the areas of
Radio Frequency (RF) and Electro-Optical (EO) based sensor technologies,
Radar Systems,
Satellite Systems and
Electronic Warfare (EW) Systems and Simulators.
While performing Total Quality Management and Customer Satisfaction processes by a special emphasis on continuous improvement in every area, the main goal of RST is to generate rapid and reliable solutions in response to varying needs of its customers, with the use of modern engineering techniques and high technology.
One of the most challenging system projects of RST is the “X-Band Transportable Polarimetric Weather Radar (METRAD)”. This project is partially supported by TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) as well as with the own resources of RST. Using meteorology/weather radars is critical for weather forecasting especially in the events of heavy rainfall, hail, hurricane, tornado and flood and for weather events which are important for aviation such as windshear, turbulence and gust front. Weather radars provide information about the position, direction and velocity of air mass which helps to determine the type and volume of the meteorological event. Polarimetry, which is an important characteristic of RST’s METRAD, provides detailed information in vertical and horizontal axis which gives more detailed information regarding air mass in order to make forecasts with a high level of success. During the intensive cooperation activities conducted with Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM), it is once more proved that, in addition to stationary C-band radars, transportable X and/or Ka band radars have crucial importance in filling the geographical gaps which cannot be covered by stationary C-band radars and fulfilling the forecasting and operational needs arising in regions with hail, flood, hurricane, tornado and similar natural disaster risks. Such transportable radars are also used at ports, airports and sports events.
METRAD is a state of the art weather radar system with polarimetric measurement capabilities. Its challenge comes from the fact that it requires absolute reflectivity measurements of the weather targets from both the vertical and the horizontal polarization channels. However, a polarimetric radar system should have very sensitive channel calibration capability to meet this requirement. METRAD can achieve this kind of sensitive measurement by its internal on-site calibration structure. Therefore, accurate measurement results can be provided by METRAD without any need of factory calibration activities. In contrast to single polarization weather radars, METRAD with this ability can provide more meteorological radar products which can provide more accurate precipitation estimations and more accurate short term weather forecasting.
In addition to METRAD which operates in X band, RST has successfully completed the development and production of a Ka-band weather radar as well. This is also a transportable weather radar just like METRAD, which has a very short installation time and provides very high resolution. Since Ka Band Weather Radar is a completed and ready-to-use system, this also gives RST the opportunity to make high resolution measurements via Ka band radar and use the data during the development of X Band Weather Radar (METRAD).
Another project carried out by RST is “Ku Band Electronically Scanned Antennas for Satellite Communication Systems Project”. Today, most of the antennas utilized in mobile satellite terminals are reflector antennas which track satellites mechanically. Such antenna systems require intensive maintenance and are subject to environmental conditions like vibration, shock, etc. In addition to these disadvantages, because of their physical shapes, volume and weight are also parameters to be considered, especially in defence platforms. Due to their low profile and high performance, electronically scanned antennas are considered to be an attractive and preferable option for the mobile satellite terminals in many application areas, especially in defense platforms like warships, aircrafts, land platforms and different kinds of unmanned platforms. RST is currently developing fully electronically steerable phased array for Ku-band satellite communication applications. The radiating aperture consists of patch radiators and is designed to provide ±45° coverage in both axis. This phased array system is being developed based on a modular approach in order to meet the required link budget for specific applications.
In addition to radar and antenna projects, RST also executes acquisition and installation operations for Turkish Air Force EHTES (Electronic Warfare Training and Test Range) systems and provides operation and maintenance trainings.
Another expertise area of RST is the reverse engineering of surface-to-air (SAM) and air-to-air (AAM) missile seeker heads. Using the relavant knowledge and expertise, the reverse engineering activities are performed for the seeker heads of MANPAD and SAM systems like IGLA, IGLA-1, and STRELA. By the information provided by intensive study, indoor and outdoor test environments are set in order to test and verify mission data files (MDF) prepared for air platforms for self-protection.
In conjunction with these operations, RST has extensive studies regarding IRCM system. When the threat evaluation for the airborne platforms is done, it can apparently be seen that, especially for helicopters, the most dangerous and common threat is MANPADs. RST is studying a concept system which can be used without the necessity of DIRCM systems. According to this cheap and easy-to-install solution, there is no need to have DIRCM system and obligation to identify the treats, instead, during the operation, IRCM system performs smart modulation techniques against almost all types of MANPAD seekers.
For carrying out the relevant projects and studies, RST has the required technical infrastructure in its premises with test and measurement devices such as oscilloscopes, network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, power supplies, DSP boards, etc. up to 40 GHz.
RST continuously seeks for cost and time effective solutions for R&D projects and develops all levels of RF&EO sensors, radars, EW systems and simulators, EW indoor and outdoor test ranges starting from basic engineering approach to advanced complex system level solutions depending on the requirements.
RST has ambition, determination, and the required technical and managerial qualifications and is eager to contribute to the government’s strategic decision to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign procurement, to increase the production of indigenous solutions, products and systems for use by the Turkish Armed Forces as well as to attain technological competence in the world market.
