SETAC (precision approach procedure)

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The SETAC system (also known as MITAC / SETAC) developed by Standard Elektrik Lorenz (SEL) was a precision approach procedure developed in Germany.

It was based on the TACAN system. Hence the name is derived from: MITAC represents MI cro TAC , which SEL term for TACAN while SETAC for SE ctor TAC is pending.

The project arose in 1968 from NATO's demand for a uniform landing system for all aircraft and airfields in the military alliance. In 1971, development began in Germany even before the tactical requirement (TaF) was established, and in 1972 technical testing.

In 1978 the Military-Technical-Economic Demand (MTWF) followed, but the SETAC development was almost complete. However, NATO rejected the German draft. The International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO ) also showed no interest in the system. As a result, the system was already worthless to the Air Force at this point , as leading Air Force officers pointed out several times. Nonetheless, a conflict over the introduction that had lasted for years began.

The original plan was to purchase 1,436 on-board devices and 83 ground systems; in 1984, delivery of 592 on-board devices and 12 ground stations began. The price for a ground station had meanwhile risen from 1.5 to 7.5 million Deutschmarks.

The system pattern test that was now beginning, however, was completely unsatisfactory, the device primarily built into the Tornado weapon system ( the system was not suitable for the Alpha Jet due to the assignment of the instruments) turned out not only to be inadequate, but also to pose a threat to pilots and aircraft. As a result, the trials were largely canceled in 1985.

In 1989 the end of the project was decided, in 1992 the devices were separated from the Air Force and sold to scrap dealers and an electronics store for a total of 15,315 D-Marks. The development and procurement of the MITAC / SETAC system cost over 300 million Deutschmarks.

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Hoffmann: Chronicle of a Million Flops in Die Zeit , No. 40 of October 1, 1993