Japan to install radar at Tokyo Haneda airport to reduce bird strikes

Japan will install radar equipment at Tokyo's Haneda airport in April to prevent birds from colliding with airplanes that could cause plane crashes, according to local media citing officials from ministry of transport. It is the first such high-tech effort to be made in the country due to the rising bird strikes at the nation's busiest airport, the officials said. The radar after installation can locate the positions of birds up to 300 meters high, so that people can track their movements on screen and deal with them more easily. The radar can measure the size and the type of birds while the monitors will be able estimate where birds are likely to fly, and it can disperse the birds by using popping sounds over loudspeakers. Bird strike cases have been increasing at the Haneda airport in recent years. Last year there were a total of 171 cases, and this year already outpaced last year, with 176 cases in the first nine months. Similar equipment will be installed at other airports if the project proved to be effective, the officials said.