Naval radar experts are meeting this week in San Diego to share their experiences with the operation and support of the Saab Sea Giraffe naval radar.

The Sea Giraffe search radar has been installed on surface combatants, including frigates, corvettes, patrol boats, and the littoral combat ship, and is in service or selected for installation with 12 navies around the world.

Capt. Jon Kaufmann, USN (Ret.), responsible for naval domain programs for Saab North America, says the forum is intended to accomplish three goals.  “We want our customers to hear from us; and we want to hear from them.  Just as important, we want the representatives of the different navies here to talk to each other to compare notes and share lessons learned.”

Ted Ackerstierna, head of naval domain marketing and sales for Saab Electronic Defense Systems in Gothenburg, Sweden, says it’s important for Saab to learn what features are desired by customers so they can be evaluated for inclusion in future versions of the Sea Giraffe family.  Saab Sea Giraffe product managers attended to hear from the experiences of the users to learn how to improve on the system and better support it around the world.

Capt. Winton Smith, commanding officer of Naval Base San Diego, greeted the attendees and told them that they have come to San Diego at a great time.  In addition to the Sea Giraffe User Group, the San Diego chapter of the Surface Navy Association (SNA) is hosting its annual SNA West Coast Symposium on Aug. 16.  The following week, Commander Naval Surface Forces is sponsoring Surface Line Week (SLW), an annual five-day-long, friendly competition among Navy Surface Warfare commands in a variety of seamanship and sporting events.

While in San Diego, User Group attendees will be visiting U.S. Navy fleet units and training facilities.