HUNDREDS of jobs in the region have been secured by a Royal Navy move to buy a £100 million hi-tech radar system built on the Isle of Wight.
Capable of tracking an object the size of a snooker ball more than 12 miles away, the Ministry of Defence intends the system to be installed in the Navy's two new aircraft carriers.
The £100 million contract to provide the technology was awarded to BAE Systems Insyte, which will build the units at its plant in Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
The Artisan radar system will also be installed on existing vessels in the fleet as well as the carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.
The two vessels will be the biggest warships ever constructed in the UK. The £4 billion vessels will be partly built in Portsmouth by a new company, BVT, formed by the merging of county defence giants BAE and VT's ship-building operations.
Rear Admiral Amjad Hussain from MoD Defence Equipment and Support said: "The Artisan radar is a sophisticated system which will improve the quality of information to commanders compared with existing technology.
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"The new radar will replace existing systems on our Type 23 frigates, landing ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark and the assault helicopter carrier HMS Ocean - as well as on our two new aircraft carriers.
"This is a prime example of the type of hi-tech equipment that we are investing in to improve the ability of our commanders to operate in the 21st century."
The radar contract is expected to sustain around 200 jobs, including around 80 at the Cowes facility, the MoD said.
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