Naval kite plan flies the nest with spin-off company

It may have sounded a bit head in the clouds when the naval service announced plans to use a kite in an innovative radar system which would also help save fuel.

But the proposals — first revealed by the Irish Examiner in 2012 — resulted in successful trials, funding from Enterprise Ireland, and plans to create a spin-off company which could employ up to 20 people to sell the technology.

The kites, which can be reeled out on steel cables from a pulley system, fly over the ship and are equipped with a batch of sensors which can dramatically increase the range of radar and other surveillance equipment. It can improve radar capabilities by nearly 10 times.