SA to develop silent radar technology

Ground-breaking "silent" radar technology to protect soldiers will be developed in South Australia with state government help.

SA company Silentium Defence has been awarded $200,000 to develop its passive radar system which uses silent sensors to locate objects, eliminating the chance of large radio signals being picked up by the enemy.

SA Manufacturing Minister Kyam Maher says the technology is "game changing" and has the potential to help protect Australian troops serving overseas.

Silentium chief executive James Palmer said the technology had export potential and was better than existing systems because it did not send out large bursts of radio energy.

"This is a problem in the defence context, as these large blasts of radio energy become a beacon that potential adversaries are able to use," Dr Palmer said.

He said the company was possibly looking to attract an international partner and have a product on the market within two years.