CONTROL CENTRE 80

Control Centre 80 was the first computer-based anti-aircraft fire control system in Finland.

One prototype was assembled. After trials, the system was discontinued. Control Centre 80 was a compact unit housed in a portable container with a target acquisition radar, computer-based target acquisition equipment and personal workspaces, all at the same location. The biggest issue leading to the discontinuation was the weight of the system. The trucks used to transport the container were too underpowered to move efficiently in all required terrain types. The advancement in computer and digital technology in the 1980s was rapid how ever, and the more modern Control Centre 87 which was based on the experience with Control centre 80, could already fit to a tiny Volkswagen van.

The system was able to

• track eight targets simultaneously,
• determine the target coordinates and their rates of change,
• provide eight AA batteries with the four most important targets for each battery,
• provide the gun batteries with information of friendly planes, and
• provide target data from sources other than the system’s own radar.

The control centre sent the target data to the firing batteries as a data message using a radio or telephone connection. At the batteries, the target data was displayed on remote terminals as numerical data. Control Centre 80 was in trial use in Finland in the early 1980s. It was succeeded by Control Centre 87, which remained in service as an air defence fire control equipment for a long time, until 2006.