The RSR 940 Spider, a covert air and sea surface surveillance radar, has been installed in Simonstown to undergo a product evaluation exercise. Due to a shift to peacekeeping into the African continent, deployment in littoral waters and protection against asymmetric threats have become priorities. The Spider radar system is ideally suited for these needs.

The Spider is capable to detect and track much smaller sea and air targets than current coastal and air surveillance radars in its class. The system is a fully coherent, low cost, light-weight, LPI frequency modulated continuous wave radar. Low transmitted power levels make it ideal for covert operations. The system is not easily detected by the conventional ESM systems.

The Spider RSR 940 can be transported on a 1 ton pickup truck; with the antenna stowed away to fit in the vehicle envelope. Various system configurations are available. These range from a highly mobile (1 ton truck) setup to permanent installations (RSR 970). The semi-permanent version is container based and can be supplied with mast heights of 5 to 15m above ground level.