Provision of Radar Antenna for C-Band Weather Radar on behalf of the Met Office

This procurement is for the supply and delivery of a Radar Antenna for C-Band Weather Radar, including a fully comprehensive 12-month warranty period commencing on the date of delivery at the Met Office installation site.

The requirement of a new weather radar in East Anglia is based on recommendations to improve the quality and coverage of the Met Office weather radar network. The Environment Agency, which jointly funds the radar network in England and Wales, places great importance on weather radar data as an input to flood forecasting schemes. The rainfall estimates from the weather radar network combined with other data sources are fed through to the flood risk models that are run by the Environment Agency. Improvements in the quality of the initial estimates of rainfall are therefore reflected in the output of the flood forecast models, and this feeds through to the accuracy and the lead times of the warnings and advice that are issued.

Serious flood events prior to the 2001 review had raised concerns as to whether the existing radar network met the Met Office and Environment Agency's requirements in terms of quality of coverage. As a result, the Weather Radar Network Review project was sponsored by the Environment Agency and the Met Office to review the quality of radar coverage and recommend how the network could be most effectively improved.

A weather radar in East Anglia will help improve the accuracy of the observations and forecasts by improving the coverage of 1-2km resolution radar data over East Anglia and to the north of London.

This is a one-off requirement for a dual polarisation C-band parabolic antenna. It needs to meet specific requirements as it has a significant impact on the overall radar performance and is not easily changed once installed.