Dutch launch major project to develop radio frequency technology

Defence firm Thales, NXP, Philips, Altum RF, and Delft, Twente and Eindhoven universities have signed up for a new government-backed project to develop the next generation of radio frequency technologies. The government agreed earlier to invest almost €102 million into the Polaris project, which has been initiated by the ministry of defence and will run for at least eight years. Thales technical director Simon van den Berg told the Financieele Dagblad the companies and universities have been working on the preparations for almost three years. “So, we’re not starting from scratch in January, we already have some directions in mind.” The technology could, for example, enable Thales to build radar that allow users to detect aircraft from much greater distances, and monitor many more areas than is currently possible.