Next generation air & naval countermeasures 1012 ezine 5 10

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SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION AIR AND NAVAL COUNTERMEASURES

Next Generation Air and Naval Countermeasures Wallop Defence Systems Ltd

Proven platform protection for an uncertain world In these uncertain times, the ability to safeguard your aircraft and naval vessels against increasingly sophisticated threats is evermore critical.

Are you getting best value from your airborne countermeasures budget? • Air Command needs control of the whole theatre airspace

• Aircrews want unsurpassed

survivability for their platforms

• Procurement expects best value from their purchases

Satisfy them all with Wallop Defence Systems Countermeasures

Wallop Defence Systems Dual Band Spectral Flares provide unrivalled survivability from modern ‘intelligent’ MANPADS.

M

ilitary aircraft and naval vessels are called on to perform an increasingly diverse range of operations, from peacekeeping and strategic military operations overseas, to border patrol and national security at home. In these varied environments they face evermore sophisticated threat from MANPADS and platform-launched missiles. To expedite these missions successfully, commanders need to be certain that their military assets can operate effectively at times of risk. Confidence in the reliability and performance of the countermeasures deployed on those platforms is a significant part of this effectiveness. Wallop Defence Systems has been giving that confidence to forces around the world for over 50 years. Continuing pressure on defence budgets means that modern countermeasures need to provide unrivalled protection for military assets but at the same time deliver low through-life costs and deliver maximum ROI for forces’ countermeasure budgets.

Wallop’s recent innovations have enabled their customers to better protect their assets and their interests. From next generation Spectral Flares and Chaff to Anti Piracy systems, Wallop Defence Systems has a capability to meet the full range of modern countermeasure requirements.

Airborne Countermeasures During conflicts over the past 25 years, over 80% of all aircraft losses can be attributed to air-to-air and ground-to-air IR seeking missiles. The proliferation of shoulder-launched missiles (MANPADS) around the world now presents a real and increasing threat to forces seeking to achieve dominance of the whole-theatre airspace. MTV and Dual Band Spectral flares provide helicopters, transport aircraft and fast jets with unrivalled protection from both simple first generation launchers and the latest discriminating Dual-Band missiles. The latest ‘intelligent’ IR missile systems have the ability to anticipate and aim forwards to where the target will be. To counter this threat, Wallop

It isn’t just Procurement that needs to know.

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SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION AIR AND NAVAL COUNTERMEASURES

Continuing pressure on defence budgets means that modern countermeasures need to provide unrivalled protection for military assets but at the same time deliver low through-life costs and deliver maximum ROI for forces’ countermeasure

SuperBarricade’s versatility provides layered protection against missile and torpedo attack.

budgets. Defence Systems has entered into partnerships with a number of leading dispenser manufacturers to supply a forward facing capability that will launch decoy flares into positions ahead of the aircraft where the missile is anticipating the target will be.

Naval Countermeasures In recent years naval threat scenarios have undergone a radical change. The focus has long shifted from battles between massed fleets of surface combatants. Today, naval forces need to be able to engage targets on shore, provide air defence cover, fight terrorists at sea and protect civilian shipping from pirates. The execution of these complex and wideranging operational needs means that naval countermeasures have to span all categories of vessels, from inshore and offshore patrol boats; through medium sized frigates and destroyers; to battleships and carriers, and provide fast-reacting, effective, layered defence against an increasing array of missile and torpedo threats. 4 | www.defenceindustryreports.com

Ships of all sizes require IR rounds capable of defeating Anti-Ship missiles. The decoys must be highly effective against IR-homing missiles during the target search phase. A threatened vessel can surround itself with decoys when missiles attack is imminent. When the missile commences its pre-programmed search of the area it will select a decoy before reaching the threatened vessel. Already in service with navies within NATO, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim, Wallop’s Super Barricade naval countermeasures system provides an essential shield for warships from attacks by advanced sensorguided projectiles, both airborne and sub-surface. Equally effective on the high seas and in coastal waters, Super Barricade utilises chaff and IR decoys in a variety of modes to suit the scenario, to provide proven layered protection for all vessels up to Frigate or Destroyer size. SuperBarricade comprises two lightweight, multidirectional fixed launchers (24 barrels in total) and a computer assisted tactical control


SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION AIR AND NAVAL COUNTERMEASURES

Naval Decoy Countermeasures System Fast reacting, layered defence system for vessels up to Destroyer/Frigate size. Uses advanced countermeasures to protect ships from sensor guided missiles and torpedoes.

102mm SuperBarricade • Proven layered defence

against anti-ship missiles

• Confusion, distraction, dump & seduction modes

• Compact, reliable & effective • Deployed with navies around the world

• Low acquisition and through-life costs

The SuperBarricade system reacts to the threat scenario with a variety of defence modes; Confusion, Distraction, Seduction/Centroid and Dump modes depending on the proximity of the detected missile. Confusion – Distraction – Dump – SeductioN

system that can interface with ESM and combat systems. Using spin stabilization, the ammunition accurately deploys chaff and IR payloads with very fast system reaction time. And depending on missile proximity, the SuperBarricade system deploys the optimum spread of countermeasures to deliver outstanding performance against all kinds of anti-ship missile engagement. Wallop’s chaff payloads are designed and manufactured for use with all leading dispensing systems currently in use, for example BOFORS and SCLAR launchers. A wide choice of other leading configurations, like the 130mm NATO Standard Chaff cartridges and 76mm/115mm navel chaff rockets, is also available.

Anti-Piracy Systems for Commercial Vessels The proliferation of piracy, terrorism, drug running, people trafficking and illegal fishing are increasingly occupying the minds of navies,

coastguards and commercial ship owners alike, all across the globe. In response to these threats, Wallop has developed the Triton 57, a simple to operate launching system utilising 57mm calibre illuminating and noise making ammunition. With a range of over 1750 metres, a brightness of 250,000 candela and a sound signature in excess of 125 dbels, the Triton 57 system provides ‘best of class’ performance for the deployment of illuminating flares and noise making maroons. Using the Triton system, merchant vessels operating in waters where there is known pirate activity can defend themselves with visual and aural, layered protection that denies the pirates the cover of darkness, and invariably deters the attack once the pirates know they have been detected. Equally, coastal naval patrols and coastguards using the system will have the capability to illuminate large areas of water, thus denying their quarry the cover of darkness which their operations usually demand.

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SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION AIR AND NAVAL COUNTERMEASURES

Using the Triton system, merchant vessels operating in waters where there is known pirate activity can defend themselves with visual and aural, layered protection that denies

To the ship operator, piracy represents a clear and present danger in many regions of the world, putting at risk not only their vessels, cargoes and lives of the crew, but also the reputation of

the pirates the cover of darkness.

Triton utilises Wallop’s military proven 57mm single barrel launcher to allow commercial vessels to deploy illuminating rockets and maroon noisemakers to counter the threat of pirate attack.

their company and the confidence of customers.

Infra-Red Flare Technology The past 25 years have seen a proliferation of MANPAD surface-to-air missile launchers around the world, such as the SA-7 and Stinger. In today’s uncertain world the need to protect airborne platforms of all kinds from the threat posed by these relatively cheap and easy to operate systems has never been greater. MTV flares can significantly enhance an aircraft’s survivability against the earlier generations of these heat-seeking missiles and can be tailored to specific customer requirements and operating conditions. Originally developed in partnership with the UK MoD, Wallop’s MTV flares are suitable for a wide range of fixed wing and rotary platforms including fast jet and transport aircraft. Wallop’s 118 and 218 MTV flares are produced to both standard and enhanced specifications and can be housed in multi-shot magazines fitted to a wide variety of countermeasures dispensing sets. Wallop’s 118 flare is also available as an Aerodynamic flare, effective against advanced kinematic threats. The latest MANPADS are able to distinguish between the Infra Red bands of the exhaust signature of its target aircraft. These smarter missiles reject the high-energy output of a decoy

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MTV flare and continue to track the lower outputs emitted by the aircraft. In order to create an effective decoy for these more sophisticated threats, Dual Band Spectral Flares reproduce the dominant heat signature of the aircraft at a lower energy level, which the missile then tracks as its new target. As a result, these flares provide unrivalled levels of protection from the threat generated by these discriminating missiles. Developed in partnership with the UK MoD and operationally proven, 118, 218 and 36mm dual spectral flares are suitable for a wide range of helicopters, fast jet and transport aircraft. The MTV and Dual Band Spectral Flares produced by Wallop for use on western aircraft contain a safety and initiating mechanism that provides improved operational safety for the crew, maintenance teams and the platform itself.

RF Technology Chaff has its origins in WW2 when aluminium foil chaff was invented to defeat Radar Frequency (RF) threats. Chaff is still widely used throughout the world’s navies to defeat RF missiles. However, chaff technology has significantly advanced over the past 60 years. The use of fine filament aluminised glass chaff produced by Wallop’s


SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION AIR AND NAVAL COUNTERMEASURES

Anti-Piracy & Trafficking Deterrent 26mm Chaff countermeasure dispenser.

IR flares provide helicopters, fast jets and transport aircraft effective protection from missile attack.

Together with Wallop’s sister company Armtec, their advanced designs are in service on a wide number of fixed and rotary wing platforms across the globe. Many dispensers are serviced including the ALE-47, ALE-40, ALE-29/39, SAAB (BOZ, PHIMAT), M-130 and Thales Vicon 78. As well as supplying chaff payloads for use on Western aircraft, Wallop supplies 26mm for use on FSU aircraft including the Mi-8 helicopter and a variety of MiG fighters. 50mm decoys are supplied for use on Sukhoi and IL-76 aircraft.

Millimetric Chaff Decoys parent group, Esterline, meets the exacting US Weapons Specifications, and provides enhanced decoy radar cross sections which, in turn, distract and seduce incoming missiles away from their threatened targets. To combat the multi-frequency bands that modern missiles can use, chaff systems offer Broadband frequency protection whilst providing an excellent radar cross section. Through the use of advanced design and manufacturing techniques, modern chaff systems ensure decoys bloom very rapidly with minimal bird-nesting which significantly enhances the aircraft’s survivability and operational effectiveness. Wallop Defence Systems provides a comprehensive range of chaff products that are reliable and well-proven, having been originally developed in partnership with the UK MoD. The Company has an extensive Research & Development capability which creates chaff payload designs across the RF spectrum tailored to meet customers’ individual operating requirements. The WDS RR-180 chaff cartridge supplied by Wallop provides dual-shot capability effectively doubling the number of countermeasures carried by the aircraft.

A chaff decoy is a cloud of resonant metallic dipoles. Consequently, when designing a chaff decoy, the aim is to produce the least dense chaff cloud that is practically possible, whilst dispensing a sufficient number of dipoles to achieve the required RCS, given account of mechanical dispensing losses and polarisation effects. Almost all Surface to Air (SAM) missile systems use E to H acquisition and I to J tracking radars. This is why chaff countermeasures such as the RR-170 cartridge invariably specify E/F, G/H and I/J coverage. An important exception is the SA-15 / SA-19 SAM system which uses K-Band with C-band search and I-band command guidance. The provision of K-band millimetric chaff for cartridges such as RR-170 and RR-180 is entirely feasible. The use of fine filament chaff to secure a sufficient RCS overcomes previous problems of obtaining a practical RCS in the region of 30 to 40 GHz, given the small size of the chaff cuts. Specialised naval chaff decoy countermeasures have been developed to counter anti-ship missiles with frequency-agile capability. There is increasing interest in a millimetric capability for naval chaff decoys. Experience from trials indicate that a practical millimetric capability for naval use is probably

A new 57mm launching system with illuminating and noise-making payloads to provide commercial shipping with effective deterrent against piracy. Also effective for anti-smuggling, drug trafficking and fishery protection operations.

Triton • Layered deterrent against piracy for commercial fleet operators

• Non-offensive deterrent for antipiracy, trafficking and fishery protection operations • Illuminating and noise making rounds • Compact, reliable & effective • Low acquisition and throughlife costs • Consultancy, training and installation services available

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SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION AIR AND NAVAL COUNTERMEASURES

Wallop Defence Systems countermeasures enable commanders to comprehensively safeguard airborne and naval platforms from Wallop has a 50-year pedigree of ground-breaking advances in airborne and naval systems.

missile attack.

confined to relatively small decoy rocket systems in the range of 35mm to 80mm calibre, for reasons associated with the physical characteristics of millimetric chaff. The required characteristics of millimetric chaff payloads are known and practical methods of manufacturing such payloads for both ASPC and naval use have been investigated and are available.

Wallop Defence Systems, Delivering Technically Advanced Countermeasures‌ As part of Esterline Defense Technologies, Wallop Defence Systems is a world leading manufacturer of advanced Dual-band Spectral Flares and traditional MTV infrared countermeasures. They have invested heavily in Research and Development and are at the forefront of design and development of infrared flares and chaff cartridges to counter the threat posed by air-to-air and ground-to-air IR & RF guided missiles. Providing unrivalled protection for helicopter, transport and fighter aircraft, the Wallop range of innovative expendable IR decoys is compatible with most countermeasure dispensers.

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Wallop’s new state of the art manufacturing facilities provide unrivalled standards of consistency that in turn provide the highest levels of product reliability and performance.

In these uncertain times, the ability to safeguard your aircraft and naval vessels against increasingly sophisticated threats is ever more critical. Wallop Defence Systems countermeasures enable commanders to comprehensively safeguard airborne and naval platforms from missile attack, secure in the knowledge that the survivability of their assets and their crews will be significantly enhanced by the sophisticated layered protection that modern countermeasures provide.


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