RAF pilots are one step closer to being equipped with a
cutting-edge laser self-protection system, following 100%
successful live-fire trials.
The laser is being designed to be fitted to a range of RAF
aircraft including the intelligence gathering Shadow R2 and A400M
transporter, ready to rapidly detect and defeat threats such as
missiles.
During the trial at the Vidsel Test Range in Sweden, the
operational system defeated a range of infrared heat-seeking
missiles being fired simultaneously.
100% of threats were quickly defeated using a laser with pinpoint
accuracy, which has been designed and developed by the Team
Pellonia partnership between Leonardo UK, Thales UK, and the
MOD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.
Defence Secretary, said:
Identifying, tracking and defeating threats from the air in
seconds is crucial to having the edge over those who try to do us
harm.
We're equipping our Armed Forces with the very latest technology
to keep them safe and give them the advantage on
operations.
This high-tech laser is another excellent example of joint
working between our Dstl experts and the UK's defence industry.
The system works by Thales's Elix-IR threat warning system
quickly detecting and identifying the launch of missiles, using a
series of algorithms to filter out background clutter so that
only valid threats are tracked, classified and
declared.
Once the threat(s) has been classified, an alert is sent to the
Leonardo's Miysis directed infrared countermeasure which
moves to track the incoming missile and directs a jamming laser
onto the missile with ultimate precision.
Threats are defeated faster than the time it takes to read this
sentence. This UK engineered capability gives the MOD the latest
generation best-in-class protection, whilst enjoying full
operational independence, and offering the same freedoms to
export customers.
The live tests were witnessed by senior military officers from a
number of NATO nations.
Dstl's Chief for Air Survivability, Mark Elson,
said:
The UK defensive aids system is the culmination of MOD's detailed
understanding of changing threats alongside years of sustained
defence investment in science and technology nurtured within
Dstl. This has been aligned with the development capabilities of
our commercial partners through Team Pellonia.
The design of the system has the agility to protect platforms now
and into the future, providing long-term operational advantage to
the UK and our allies. This is enabled through Spiral Development
which provides capabilities such as the Dstl developed jamming
waveform that defeats the guidance of the missile threat.
Dstl's research programme and partnerships like Team Pellonia
help boost UK economic growth, sustaining 700 jobs at Thales in
Glasgow and 1,250 specialist roles at Leonardo in Edinburgh,
supporting both the local as well as national economies.
Leonardo's Senior Vice-President of Radar and Advanced
Targeting, Mark Stead, said:
The results of these latest trials speak for themselves, and are
a testament to the skills and experience within Leonardo as a
global leader in directed infrared countermeasures. Miysis DIRCM
has again proven itself as a reliable, effective protection
system and is flying operationally on many platforms
today.
My thanks go to the Miysis team who demonstrated superb
leadership and technical prowess during the trials at Vidsel,
working alongside our partners in Defence and Industry to prove
our capabilities which help to protect our Armed Forces.
Thales's Managing Director of Optronics & Missile
Electronics UK, Stephen McCann, said:
Once again, as previously witnessed during SALT 3 in 2018,
Elix-IR has proved its world leading capabilities as the latest
generation multi-function infrared threat warning system during
what was a comprehensive and complicated multi-faceted
trial.
I am extremely proud of our entire team that supported both the
UK, under Team Pellonia, and other NATO member teams in the
preparation and execution of this event. UK MOD has adopted
Elix-IR as its core reference capability threat warner of choice,
based on its maturity and proven capability.
