fatman17
PDF THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
- Messages
- 32,563
- Reaction score
- 98
- Country
- Location
On a wing and a flare: rotary-winged protection
Martin Streetly assesses the range of defensive measures that rotary-wing platforms have at their disposal for responding to battlefield threats
Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, the received wisdom has been that manportable surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) that home onto infrared (IR) energy represent the most serious threat to helicopters on the battlefield. Accordingly, the main thrust of defensive aids system (DAS) provision for helicopters has been directed against such threats.
While IR-guided SAMs remain a potent counter to battlefield rotary-wing activity, years of fighting in Southwest Asia has shown that small-arms fire (up to and including heavy machine guns) and weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) potentially pose as great a threat as shoulder-launched SAMs.
Perhaps surprisingly, 'hostile fire' threats such as those described are mostly only now being addressed, with a new generation of acoustic warners being developed and lightweight armour being introduced. Rotary-wing platforms also face a growing threat from laser weapon system designation and/or missile guidance.
Within the traditional DAS community, such provision can be divided into threat-warning and threat-countering equipment, with the two increasingly being grouped into federated or fully integrated DAS suites. Threat counters can be subdivided into active and passive measures, with the former taking the form of radar and directed or fixed-source IR jammers, while the latter centre on countermeasures dispensing systems (CMDSs) that launch expendable radar-frequency chaff and IR decoy flare cartridges.
Countering threats
As currently applied, by far the most common helicopter DAS item is the CMDS, with manufacturers across the world producing such equipment. In Europe, MBDA France, Saab Avitronics and Thales Land & Joint Systems all produce such equipment for rotary-wing applications. MBDA's ELIPS and SAPHIR systems have been collectively installed aboard Cougar (SAPHIR), Cougar Mk 2 (ELIPS), Ecureuil (SAPHIR), Gazelle (SAPHIR-B), Lynx (SAPHIR), NH90 (ELIPS-NH or SAPHIR-M), Panther (ELIPS) and Puma (SAPHIR-A) platforms, while Saab Avitronics' BOP-L equipment is designed for use on both helicopters and fixed-wing transport aircraft.
The Thales Land & Joint Systems Vicon 78 Series 455 dispenser is understood to have been applied to Agusta A109BA, Apache AH Mk 1, Mi-24 and Oryx helicopters. Russian industry has produced the ASO-2 and ASO-3 CMDSs that are fitted to a range of aircraft including the Mi-8MT (ASO-3), Mi-17 (ASO-2) and Mi-24D (ASO-2V) types.
Across the Atlantic, the triumvirate of BAE Systems, Symetrics and Rodale produce the ubiquitous AN/ALE-47 CMDS, which is increasingly superseding BAE Systems' M-130 unit. This has been installed on a variety of helicopters including the AH-1, CH-47, OH-58, UH-1 and UH-60 types. The AN/ALE-47 has been installed aboard the AH-1W, AH-64, AW101, Bell 212, Bo-105, CH-47, HH-60, MH-47, MH-60, Puma, S-70B, SH-2G, SH-60J, Super Lynx, UH-1N, UH-60 and VH-3D helicopters.
Israel Military Industries (IMI) has developed a helicopter application within its SAMP CMDS range, while the Turkish and Pakistani concerns Aselsan and the Advanced Engineering Research Organisation (AERO) have produced the ÖZISIK and Mohafiz CMDS systems respectively. Both systems are suitable for helicopter applications, with the ÖZISIK system reported by Aselsan in 2007 as being at the "production stage" and the Mohafiz architecture having been procured for installation aboard "aircraft of the Pakistan Armed Forces", according to AERO.
Decoy deployment
Bearing in mind that the CMDS is both an effective and a relatively inexpensive means of defending a helicopter against IR-guided SAMs, it should come as no surprise that the manufacturers of IR decoy flare payloads for such devices have benefited enormously from the explosion in consumption generated by operations in Southwest Asia. Indeed, IR decoy flares have not only been used as a self-defence measure but also as a deterrent in non-lethal 'shows of force' designed to intimidate insurgent forces. The world's CMDS payload manufacturing base includes contractors such as United States-based Alloy Surfaces, Armtec Defense Products and Kilgore; France's Etienne Lacroix; Germany's Rheinmetall Waffe Munition; Israel's IMI and the UK's Chemring Countermeasures and Wallop Defence Systems.
Alongside conventional magnesium/Teflon/Viton (MTV) rounds, many of these manufacturers have moved towards the production of 'smart' devices that are better able to match the spectral signature and movement of the platforms they are trying to defend or which make use of 'special materials'. The term frequently refers to pyrophoric compositions that react with oxygen to generate a large IR signature without the visible light output associated with MTV devices. Such a capability allows for covert use and shields the host platform from early visual detection.
Examples of helicopter-specific payloads developed by the named companies include Alloy Surfaces' pyrophoric ASD-118L, M211, MJU-27A/B and MJU-49/B rounds; Armtec's ARM-002 device; Lacroix's LIR 111, 190, 191, 733 and 893-B rounds (with Lacroix describing the LIR 111 and 191 as "spectral"); Rheinmetall's BIRDIE and DM 69 A2 devices, which it calls "spectrally balanced"; IMI's multipayload MULTI-BLU round; Chemring's 26 mm Mk 1 Type 1, 118 Mk 3 Types 1/3/8, 118 Mk 4 and DSTL 22/39 devices, together with its IR Modular Expendable Blocks (MEBs) 65-60, 84-60 and 147-60, and IR Combi-MEB; and Wallop's DSTL 02 (dual-band spectral)/22/44/45 rounds.
Chemring's MEBs take the form of pre-loaded blocks of tailored flares that provide additional 'shots' for a given space envelope when compared with conventional CMDS magazines. All of the cited manufacturers also produce CMDS chaff cartridges for use against radar-guided threats, although the current emphasis is on IR-guided weapons.
Staying within the IR threat domain, active counters that have been applied to helicopters include both fixed-source lamp systems and directed equipment termed directed IR countermeasures (DIRCM). Examples of the former approach comprise the US AN/ALQ-144A and AN/ALQ-157 devices, together with the Russian L-166 series. L-166 variants are suitable for installation aboard AH-1, CH-46, Ka-25, Mi-8 (L-166B-1A)/-17/-24 and (L-166V-11E)/-28 helicopters, while AN/ALQ-157 configurations are known to have been applied to CH-46 and -47 platforms.
AN/ALQ-144A variants are noted as being applicable to A-109 [AN/ALQ-144A(V)3], AH-1 [A(V)1], AH-64 [A(V)3], CH-148 [A(V)5], Cougar [A(V)1], HH-60 [A(V)1], Lynx [A(V)5], Mangusta [A(V)3 and A(V)5], MH-60 [A(V)1], MH-60R [A(V)5], MH-60S [A(V)6], Mi-17 [A(V)1], OH-58D [A(V)1], Puma [A(V)1], SH-2F/G [A(V)5], Super Puma [A(V)5], Tiger [A(V)1], UH-1H [A(V)1], UH-60B [A(V)1], VH-3D [A(V)5] and VH-60 [A(V)5] helicopters.
Unlike lamp-based, fixed-source IR jammers, which frequently utilise a shutter system to modulate their outputs, DIRCMs direct an energy beam on to the incoming threat missile's seeker to disrupt it. Helicopter-applicable DIRCMs include Elop's MUSIC system, Northrop Grumman/Selex Galileo's AN/AAQ-24(V) unit and Rafael's JAM-AIR equipment. Elop's Multi-Spectral IR Countermeasures (MUSIC) is a laser-based system that is applicable to UH-60-class aircraft, while the AN/AAQ-24(V) (also known as Nemesis) can be equipped with a lamp or a laser source. AN/AAQ-24(V) helicopter applications are understood to include US CH-46E and CH-53D helicopters together with the UK Apache AH Mk 1, Chinook HC Mk 2, Lynx AH Mk 9, Merlin HC Mk 3, Puma HC Mk 1 and Sea King HC Mk 4 types. AN/AAQ-24(V) also forms part of Danish contractor Terma's Apache Modular Aircraft Survivability Equipment (AMASE) and Chinook Aircraft Survivability Equipment (CHASE) architectures. JAM-AIR is a lamp-based equipment that Rafael states is "an operational system on front-line helicopters". The BAE Systems AN/ALQ-212(V) IR countermeasures suite contains a laser-based DIRCM that is designated as the Advanced Threat IR Countermeasures (ATIRCM) subsystem.
Jamming capability
The remaining helicopter-applicable active counter is the radar jammer, with Elisra's SPJ-20, ITT Electronic Systems' AN/ALQ-136(V) and Northrop Grumman's AN/ALQ-162(V) being examples. The SPJ-20 is a detector-jammer that is believed to operate within the 2 to 18 GHz frequency and is effective against continuous wave (CW), pulsed and pulse Doppler emitters. The AN/ALQ-136(V) is aimed at pulsed radars and is applicable to the AH-64A/D [AN/ALQ-136(V)5], MH-47E [-136(V)2] and MH-60K [-136(V)2] helicopters. In the 'MH' applications, the AN/ALQ-136(V)2 is also known to have been augmented by ITT's High Power Remote Transmitter (HPRT) equipment. Northrop Grumman's AN/ALQ-162(V) jammer is aimed at CW emitters and has been applied to Egyptian AH-64 [AN/ALQ-162(V)6] and US MH-47E [-162(V)4] and MH-60K [-162(V)3] helicopters.
The second pillar of helicopter DAS provision is threat warning. Such equipment is divided up into radar, missile-approach/launch and laser warners, with 'hostile fire' detectors becoming increasingly important as coalition warfare continues in Southwest Asia. Helicopter-applicable radar warners include equipment from: Elettronica; Indra; Northrop Grumman; Saab Avitronics; Sensor and Antenna Systems, Lansdale Inc; Selex Galileo and Thales' Aerospace Division.
Members of Elettronica's ELT/156 radar-warning family have been installed aboard AB205/212/214, CH-47, Mangusta and SH-3D helicopters, while Indra's 0.5 to 40 GHz band EN/ALR-400 equipment has been fitted to Spanish Chinook, Cougar and Tiger helicopters, together with a German rotary-wing application.
Northrop Grumman's portfolio includes the AN/APR-39A(V)2, -39A(V)3, -39A(V)4 and -39B(V)2. Generically operating within the 0.5 to 40 GHz frequency range, the AN/APR-39A(V)2 has been installed aboard AH-1Z, CH-46, CH-53 and UH-1Z helicopters, while the AN/APR-39A(V)3 is billed as being applicable to the A-109, AH-1S, AH-64, Bo-105, CH-47D, Ecureuil, HH-60, Lynx, OH-58D, SH-70, UH-1H and UH-60 types. The AN/APR-39A(V)4 is suitable for use on the AH-64D Apache. Northrop Grumman described the AN/APR-39B(V) as offering a "significant" increase in performance over the AN/APR-39A(V) and notes that the AN/APR-39B(V)2 is applicable to the AH-1W/Z, AH-64D, CH-47D/SD, CH-53E, Cougar, HH-60G/H, MH-60S, S-70, VH-3, VH-60 and UH-1N/Y helicopter types.
Elsewhere within Northrop Grumman's product range, the AN/ALR-69(V) device has formed the basis for the ALR-DK/Mini-69 radar warner that has been fitted to Royal Danish Army helicopters.
When incorporated in Saab Avitronics' Integrated Defensive Aids Suite (IDAS), the company's 0.7 to 40 GHz band (up to 18 GHz against CW emitters) RWS-300 CW/pulsed/pulse Doppler radar warner is understood to have been installed aboard A-109, CH-47, Cougar, Oryx, NH90, Puma, Rooivalk and Super Lynx helicopters. Elsewhere, the Sensor and Antenna Systems, Lansdale Inc 10 to 18/20 GHz band AN/APR-44(V) system is applicable to the MH-47E, MH-60K, OH-58D and 'enhanced' UH-60A helicopter types. Selex Galileo's 0.5 to 40 GHz Sky Guardian 2000 CW/interrupted CW/pulsed/pulse Doppler equipment forms part of the company's Helicopter Integrated Defensive Aids Suite (HIDAS) that is installed aboard Greek, Kuwaiti and UK AH-64s, together with the UK's Merlin HC Mk 3 battlefield transport helicopter. In its Sky Guardian 2500 electronic support configuration, Sky Guardian also equips Super Lynx 300s of the Royal Malaysian Navy.
Thales' Aerospace Division's 2 to 40 GHz band (baseline) Compact Airborne Threat Surveyor (CATS) equipment is suitable for NH90-class helicopters, while its Threat Warning Equipment (TWE) joint venture with Germany's EADS Defence Electronics provides NH90 and Tiger helicopters with both radar (2 to 40 GHz band) and laser (Bands I and II) warning. TWE systems are being acquired for NH90/Tiger applications by Australia, France, Finland, Germany, Italy and Portugal. Within the consortium, Thales produces the radar-warning subsystem, while EADS handles the laser warner. Much of the described equipment also functions as a control processor for an overall DAS capability.
Incoming alarm
With regard to missile-approach-warning (MAW)/launch-warning systems, current technology can be divided into active radar and passive IR or ultraviolet (UV) equipment. The US arm of BAE Systems, Israel's Elta Systems and Thales' Aerospace Division all produce helicopter-applicable, active, pulse Doppler radar MAWs. BAE Systems' AN/ALR-156(V) system is known to have been installed aboard US [AN/ALR-156(V)1] and Greek CH-47s, while Elta's EL/M-2160 equips Israeli UH-60s and is applicable to Bell 212/412 and Mi-17 helicopters. Thales' MWS-20H system is fitted aboard French Cougar combat search-and-rescue platforms.
Passive MAW/launch warners can be divided into IR and UV equipment; in the IR domain, Israel's Elisra produces the helicopter-applicable Passive Airborne Warning System (PAWS), while BAE Systems in the US produces the AN/AAR-57(V) IR launch warner. This latter sensor forms part of the AN/ALQ-212(V) IR countermeasures suite and is known to have been installed aboard Apache AH Mk 1, MH-47E and MH-60K helicopters. In addition, BAE Systems states that the device is suitable for use aboard a range of rotary-wing platforms including the AH-1W, AH-64D, CH-47, MH-60L, OH-58D, SH-60R, UH-1N and UH-60.
Alliant Techsystems (ATK), China Northeast Research Institute of Technology (CNRIT), EADS Defence Electronics, Northrop Grumman and Saab Avitronics all field UV MAW/launch warners that are suitable for installation aboard rotary-wing platforms. ATK's AN/AAR-47(V) UV MAW has been fitted to a range of helicopter platforms that includes the AH-1W, CH-46, CH-53D, HH-60, MH-47E, UH-1N and SH-60. In its AN/AAR-47(V)2 configuration, the system adds a laser-warning capability, while the AN/AAR-47B(V)2-HFI variant, which is under development, adds a hostile-fire indicator (HFI) module to the architecture's baseline MAW and laser-warning functions. So configured, the AN/AAR-47B(V)2-HFI is expected to be able to provide warning of small-arms fire, anti-aircraft artillery, tracer fire and RPGs.
Protected platform
CNRIT states that its SE-2 unit is suitable for "air vehicle" applications and interfaces with the GT-1 CMDF, while the EADS Missile Launch Detection System (MILDS; also designated as AN/AAR-60) is known to have been qualified for use on CH-47, NH90, Tiger and UH-60 helicopters, and to have been selected for both a Mangusta retrofit programme and an NH90 application. Northrop Grumman's AN/AAR-54(V) is another UV MAW that is used as a baseline sensor for the AN/AAQ-24(V) DIRCM and has been fitted to Dutch AS.532U2 and CH-47D and Japanese UH-60 helicopters. Again, Saab Avitronics' MAW-300 UV MAW forms part of the company's IDAS suite, which has been installed aboard A-109, CH-47, Cougar, Oryx, NH90, Puma, Rooivalk and Super Lynx helicopters.
The third element of the warning triumvirate - laser warners - throws up three helicopter-applicable systems in the form of Elisra's LWS-20V-3, Goodrich's AN/AVR-2A/-2B and Saab Avitronics' LWS-310. Of the three, Elisra's programmable LWS-20V-3 belongs to a family of laser warners that has seen configurations installed aboard Royal Australian Navy S-70B-2 and SH-2G(A) helicopters (although this was subsequently cancelled), Canadian CH-146 Griffons and German Army CH-53G platforms. As well as being a stand-alone sensor, the LWS-20 forms part of Elisra's SPS-65V DAS suite. The AN/AVR-2A(V)/-B(V) laser-detecting sets (with the latter being an update of the former) are effective against beamrider, designator and rangefinder threats, with the generic system being known to have been used aboard AH-1Z, AH-64A/D, AW.101, HH-60H, MH-47E, MH-60K/R, OH-58D and UH-1 helicopters. Saab Avitronics' 0.5 to 1.7 µm band LWS-310 forms part of the company's IDAS suite and is likely to have been installed on the range of IDAS-equipped helicopters cited previously.
The remaining element within the helicopter-applicable threat-warning provision arena is 'hostile fire' sensors. Besides the AN/AAR-47B(V)2-HFI equipment, Jane's can identify two other 'hostile fire' warners, namely UK contractor MS Instruments' Hostile Fire Indicator (HOFIN) Type 740 and a US BAE Systems acoustic sensor that is currently under development and test. The HOFIN Type 740 comprises a sensor array, an indicator and a computer and functions by detecting the shock wave front generated by supersonic projectiles such as bullets and computing their velocity vectors and points of origin. HOFIN is understood to have been supplied to the defence forces of Canada, Italy, the UK and a number of other countries. The BAE Systems development is designed to provide warning of small-arms fire for low-flying helicopters and combines acoustic data, noise reduction/location algorithms and merged information from other onboard sensors to provide threat alerts and a direction-of-fire solution. The new sensor has been flight tested aboard an MD 500N helicopter and has been subjected to live fire from a 0.5 inch calibre machine gun, an assault rifle and a heavy-barrelled sniper rifle.
Jane's has identified a range of contractors that produce helicopter DAS systems incorporating multiple threat-warning and/or countering subsystems, with the list including BAE Systems, Elisra, IMI, ITT Electronic Systems, Saab Avitronics, Selex Galileo and Terma. BAE Systems' AN/ALQ-212(V) Suite of Integrated IR Countermeasures (SIIRCM) comprises a MAW control unit, the AN/AAR-57(V) MAW, a jamming head control unit/processor, the AN/ALE-47 CMDS (with 'smart' IR payloads) and the laser-based ATIRCM DIRCM subsystem, which incorporates two jamming heads. As such, AN/ALQ-212(V) is known to have been procured for installation aboard the MH-47E and MH-60K helicopters.
Defence suite
The same platforms have also received the ITT Electronic Systems AN/ALQ-211(V) Suite of Integrated Radio-Frequency Countermeasures (SIRFC). Designated as the AN/ALQ-211(V)6 (MH-47E) and -211(V)7 (MH-60K), the 'special forces' SIRFCs offer their hosts radar warning, threat geolocation, RF jamming and situational awareness (SA). Elsewhere in the world, the AN/ALQ-211(V)5 system has been selected for installation aboard Norwegian NH90 helicopters. The application provides radar warning, SA, an electronic support capability, laser/missile-warning data fusion and CMDS control, with the whole having an RF jamming growth path if required.
Elisra's SPS-65V warning suite combines radar (via the SPS-20 subsystem) and laser (LWS-20) warning and has been applied to Canadian CH-146 Griffon and German CH-53G helicopters. IMI's AIRMOR suite is built up from the AN/AAR-60/MILDS MAW, a radar warner, the JAM-AIR DIRCM (replacing a fixed-source IR jammer in an earlier iteration), a CMDS (IMI's SAMP system) and management and control/display units. An AIRMOR configuration is understood to have been selected for a Turkish helicopter programme.
Alongside the already described IDAS architecture (a version of which Swiss contractor RUAG is believed to have installed aboard Swedish Puma and Swiss Cougar helicopters), Saab Avitronics has launched its Compact Integrated DAS (CIDAS), which is aimed at NH90-class helicopters, among other platforms. As currently promoted, the architecture can be supplied in CIDAS100 and CIDAS300 configurations, with the former incorporating the company's LWS-310 laser and MAW-300 missile warners, together with a control unit and a BOP-series CMDS. CIDAS300 adds an RWS-300 radar warner to the CIDAS100 capability.
Federated system
Selex Galileo's Helicopter Integrated DAS (HIDAS) is built around a DAS controller, the Sky Guardian 2000 radar warner, a Type 1223 laser warner, the AN/AAR-57(V) MAW and a Vicon 78 Series 455 CMDS. Aside from installations aboard Greek, Kuwaiti and UK AH-64s and UK Merlin HC Mk 3s, a HIDAS variant (designated HIDAS 15) has been mandated for the UK's Future Lynx programme. In addition, Selex Galileo has developed the Aircraft Gateway Processor (AGP), which is designed to manage a host platform's DAS provision and provide its crew with a single-page SA display. Other system features include built-in test, parametric data recording and the ability to generate geographic area inhibits, weapon-system linkage tags and manoeuvre cues. AGP is understood to be mandated for use on US AH-64D Block II helicopters, tying together the platform's AN/AAR-57(V), AN/APR-39A(V) and AN/AVR-2B threat warners together with its AN/ALE-47 CMDS. AGP may also have been selected for a helicopter application by the United Arab Emirates.
Terma's AMASE and CHASE suites have been developed to protect Dutch AH-64Ds and CH-47F(NL)s respectively. As such, AMASE is a modular, pod-mounted equipment that incorporates a MAW [either the AN/AAR-54(V), -57(V) or 60(V)2] and either a CMDS or the AN/AAQ-24(V) DIRCM, with the whole being managed by the company's Electronic Warfare Management System (EWMS). The CHASE suite consists of the mini-tracker variant of the AN/AAQ-24(V) DIRCM, a CMDS, the AN/AAR-54(V) MAW and Terma's EWMS.
Martin Streetly is Consultant Editor of Jane's Radar & Electronic Warfare Systems, based in London
Martin Streetly assesses the range of defensive measures that rotary-wing platforms have at their disposal for responding to battlefield threats
Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, the received wisdom has been that manportable surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) that home onto infrared (IR) energy represent the most serious threat to helicopters on the battlefield. Accordingly, the main thrust of defensive aids system (DAS) provision for helicopters has been directed against such threats.
While IR-guided SAMs remain a potent counter to battlefield rotary-wing activity, years of fighting in Southwest Asia has shown that small-arms fire (up to and including heavy machine guns) and weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) potentially pose as great a threat as shoulder-launched SAMs.
Perhaps surprisingly, 'hostile fire' threats such as those described are mostly only now being addressed, with a new generation of acoustic warners being developed and lightweight armour being introduced. Rotary-wing platforms also face a growing threat from laser weapon system designation and/or missile guidance.
Within the traditional DAS community, such provision can be divided into threat-warning and threat-countering equipment, with the two increasingly being grouped into federated or fully integrated DAS suites. Threat counters can be subdivided into active and passive measures, with the former taking the form of radar and directed or fixed-source IR jammers, while the latter centre on countermeasures dispensing systems (CMDSs) that launch expendable radar-frequency chaff and IR decoy flare cartridges.
Countering threats
As currently applied, by far the most common helicopter DAS item is the CMDS, with manufacturers across the world producing such equipment. In Europe, MBDA France, Saab Avitronics and Thales Land & Joint Systems all produce such equipment for rotary-wing applications. MBDA's ELIPS and SAPHIR systems have been collectively installed aboard Cougar (SAPHIR), Cougar Mk 2 (ELIPS), Ecureuil (SAPHIR), Gazelle (SAPHIR-B), Lynx (SAPHIR), NH90 (ELIPS-NH or SAPHIR-M), Panther (ELIPS) and Puma (SAPHIR-A) platforms, while Saab Avitronics' BOP-L equipment is designed for use on both helicopters and fixed-wing transport aircraft.
The Thales Land & Joint Systems Vicon 78 Series 455 dispenser is understood to have been applied to Agusta A109BA, Apache AH Mk 1, Mi-24 and Oryx helicopters. Russian industry has produced the ASO-2 and ASO-3 CMDSs that are fitted to a range of aircraft including the Mi-8MT (ASO-3), Mi-17 (ASO-2) and Mi-24D (ASO-2V) types.
Across the Atlantic, the triumvirate of BAE Systems, Symetrics and Rodale produce the ubiquitous AN/ALE-47 CMDS, which is increasingly superseding BAE Systems' M-130 unit. This has been installed on a variety of helicopters including the AH-1, CH-47, OH-58, UH-1 and UH-60 types. The AN/ALE-47 has been installed aboard the AH-1W, AH-64, AW101, Bell 212, Bo-105, CH-47, HH-60, MH-47, MH-60, Puma, S-70B, SH-2G, SH-60J, Super Lynx, UH-1N, UH-60 and VH-3D helicopters.
Israel Military Industries (IMI) has developed a helicopter application within its SAMP CMDS range, while the Turkish and Pakistani concerns Aselsan and the Advanced Engineering Research Organisation (AERO) have produced the ÖZISIK and Mohafiz CMDS systems respectively. Both systems are suitable for helicopter applications, with the ÖZISIK system reported by Aselsan in 2007 as being at the "production stage" and the Mohafiz architecture having been procured for installation aboard "aircraft of the Pakistan Armed Forces", according to AERO.
Decoy deployment
Bearing in mind that the CMDS is both an effective and a relatively inexpensive means of defending a helicopter against IR-guided SAMs, it should come as no surprise that the manufacturers of IR decoy flare payloads for such devices have benefited enormously from the explosion in consumption generated by operations in Southwest Asia. Indeed, IR decoy flares have not only been used as a self-defence measure but also as a deterrent in non-lethal 'shows of force' designed to intimidate insurgent forces. The world's CMDS payload manufacturing base includes contractors such as United States-based Alloy Surfaces, Armtec Defense Products and Kilgore; France's Etienne Lacroix; Germany's Rheinmetall Waffe Munition; Israel's IMI and the UK's Chemring Countermeasures and Wallop Defence Systems.
Alongside conventional magnesium/Teflon/Viton (MTV) rounds, many of these manufacturers have moved towards the production of 'smart' devices that are better able to match the spectral signature and movement of the platforms they are trying to defend or which make use of 'special materials'. The term frequently refers to pyrophoric compositions that react with oxygen to generate a large IR signature without the visible light output associated with MTV devices. Such a capability allows for covert use and shields the host platform from early visual detection.
Examples of helicopter-specific payloads developed by the named companies include Alloy Surfaces' pyrophoric ASD-118L, M211, MJU-27A/B and MJU-49/B rounds; Armtec's ARM-002 device; Lacroix's LIR 111, 190, 191, 733 and 893-B rounds (with Lacroix describing the LIR 111 and 191 as "spectral"); Rheinmetall's BIRDIE and DM 69 A2 devices, which it calls "spectrally balanced"; IMI's multipayload MULTI-BLU round; Chemring's 26 mm Mk 1 Type 1, 118 Mk 3 Types 1/3/8, 118 Mk 4 and DSTL 22/39 devices, together with its IR Modular Expendable Blocks (MEBs) 65-60, 84-60 and 147-60, and IR Combi-MEB; and Wallop's DSTL 02 (dual-band spectral)/22/44/45 rounds.
Chemring's MEBs take the form of pre-loaded blocks of tailored flares that provide additional 'shots' for a given space envelope when compared with conventional CMDS magazines. All of the cited manufacturers also produce CMDS chaff cartridges for use against radar-guided threats, although the current emphasis is on IR-guided weapons.
Staying within the IR threat domain, active counters that have been applied to helicopters include both fixed-source lamp systems and directed equipment termed directed IR countermeasures (DIRCM). Examples of the former approach comprise the US AN/ALQ-144A and AN/ALQ-157 devices, together with the Russian L-166 series. L-166 variants are suitable for installation aboard AH-1, CH-46, Ka-25, Mi-8 (L-166B-1A)/-17/-24 and (L-166V-11E)/-28 helicopters, while AN/ALQ-157 configurations are known to have been applied to CH-46 and -47 platforms.
AN/ALQ-144A variants are noted as being applicable to A-109 [AN/ALQ-144A(V)3], AH-1 [A(V)1], AH-64 [A(V)3], CH-148 [A(V)5], Cougar [A(V)1], HH-60 [A(V)1], Lynx [A(V)5], Mangusta [A(V)3 and A(V)5], MH-60 [A(V)1], MH-60R [A(V)5], MH-60S [A(V)6], Mi-17 [A(V)1], OH-58D [A(V)1], Puma [A(V)1], SH-2F/G [A(V)5], Super Puma [A(V)5], Tiger [A(V)1], UH-1H [A(V)1], UH-60B [A(V)1], VH-3D [A(V)5] and VH-60 [A(V)5] helicopters.
Unlike lamp-based, fixed-source IR jammers, which frequently utilise a shutter system to modulate their outputs, DIRCMs direct an energy beam on to the incoming threat missile's seeker to disrupt it. Helicopter-applicable DIRCMs include Elop's MUSIC system, Northrop Grumman/Selex Galileo's AN/AAQ-24(V) unit and Rafael's JAM-AIR equipment. Elop's Multi-Spectral IR Countermeasures (MUSIC) is a laser-based system that is applicable to UH-60-class aircraft, while the AN/AAQ-24(V) (also known as Nemesis) can be equipped with a lamp or a laser source. AN/AAQ-24(V) helicopter applications are understood to include US CH-46E and CH-53D helicopters together with the UK Apache AH Mk 1, Chinook HC Mk 2, Lynx AH Mk 9, Merlin HC Mk 3, Puma HC Mk 1 and Sea King HC Mk 4 types. AN/AAQ-24(V) also forms part of Danish contractor Terma's Apache Modular Aircraft Survivability Equipment (AMASE) and Chinook Aircraft Survivability Equipment (CHASE) architectures. JAM-AIR is a lamp-based equipment that Rafael states is "an operational system on front-line helicopters". The BAE Systems AN/ALQ-212(V) IR countermeasures suite contains a laser-based DIRCM that is designated as the Advanced Threat IR Countermeasures (ATIRCM) subsystem.
Jamming capability
The remaining helicopter-applicable active counter is the radar jammer, with Elisra's SPJ-20, ITT Electronic Systems' AN/ALQ-136(V) and Northrop Grumman's AN/ALQ-162(V) being examples. The SPJ-20 is a detector-jammer that is believed to operate within the 2 to 18 GHz frequency and is effective against continuous wave (CW), pulsed and pulse Doppler emitters. The AN/ALQ-136(V) is aimed at pulsed radars and is applicable to the AH-64A/D [AN/ALQ-136(V)5], MH-47E [-136(V)2] and MH-60K [-136(V)2] helicopters. In the 'MH' applications, the AN/ALQ-136(V)2 is also known to have been augmented by ITT's High Power Remote Transmitter (HPRT) equipment. Northrop Grumman's AN/ALQ-162(V) jammer is aimed at CW emitters and has been applied to Egyptian AH-64 [AN/ALQ-162(V)6] and US MH-47E [-162(V)4] and MH-60K [-162(V)3] helicopters.
The second pillar of helicopter DAS provision is threat warning. Such equipment is divided up into radar, missile-approach/launch and laser warners, with 'hostile fire' detectors becoming increasingly important as coalition warfare continues in Southwest Asia. Helicopter-applicable radar warners include equipment from: Elettronica; Indra; Northrop Grumman; Saab Avitronics; Sensor and Antenna Systems, Lansdale Inc; Selex Galileo and Thales' Aerospace Division.
Members of Elettronica's ELT/156 radar-warning family have been installed aboard AB205/212/214, CH-47, Mangusta and SH-3D helicopters, while Indra's 0.5 to 40 GHz band EN/ALR-400 equipment has been fitted to Spanish Chinook, Cougar and Tiger helicopters, together with a German rotary-wing application.
Northrop Grumman's portfolio includes the AN/APR-39A(V)2, -39A(V)3, -39A(V)4 and -39B(V)2. Generically operating within the 0.5 to 40 GHz frequency range, the AN/APR-39A(V)2 has been installed aboard AH-1Z, CH-46, CH-53 and UH-1Z helicopters, while the AN/APR-39A(V)3 is billed as being applicable to the A-109, AH-1S, AH-64, Bo-105, CH-47D, Ecureuil, HH-60, Lynx, OH-58D, SH-70, UH-1H and UH-60 types. The AN/APR-39A(V)4 is suitable for use on the AH-64D Apache. Northrop Grumman described the AN/APR-39B(V) as offering a "significant" increase in performance over the AN/APR-39A(V) and notes that the AN/APR-39B(V)2 is applicable to the AH-1W/Z, AH-64D, CH-47D/SD, CH-53E, Cougar, HH-60G/H, MH-60S, S-70, VH-3, VH-60 and UH-1N/Y helicopter types.
Elsewhere within Northrop Grumman's product range, the AN/ALR-69(V) device has formed the basis for the ALR-DK/Mini-69 radar warner that has been fitted to Royal Danish Army helicopters.
When incorporated in Saab Avitronics' Integrated Defensive Aids Suite (IDAS), the company's 0.7 to 40 GHz band (up to 18 GHz against CW emitters) RWS-300 CW/pulsed/pulse Doppler radar warner is understood to have been installed aboard A-109, CH-47, Cougar, Oryx, NH90, Puma, Rooivalk and Super Lynx helicopters. Elsewhere, the Sensor and Antenna Systems, Lansdale Inc 10 to 18/20 GHz band AN/APR-44(V) system is applicable to the MH-47E, MH-60K, OH-58D and 'enhanced' UH-60A helicopter types. Selex Galileo's 0.5 to 40 GHz Sky Guardian 2000 CW/interrupted CW/pulsed/pulse Doppler equipment forms part of the company's Helicopter Integrated Defensive Aids Suite (HIDAS) that is installed aboard Greek, Kuwaiti and UK AH-64s, together with the UK's Merlin HC Mk 3 battlefield transport helicopter. In its Sky Guardian 2500 electronic support configuration, Sky Guardian also equips Super Lynx 300s of the Royal Malaysian Navy.
Thales' Aerospace Division's 2 to 40 GHz band (baseline) Compact Airborne Threat Surveyor (CATS) equipment is suitable for NH90-class helicopters, while its Threat Warning Equipment (TWE) joint venture with Germany's EADS Defence Electronics provides NH90 and Tiger helicopters with both radar (2 to 40 GHz band) and laser (Bands I and II) warning. TWE systems are being acquired for NH90/Tiger applications by Australia, France, Finland, Germany, Italy and Portugal. Within the consortium, Thales produces the radar-warning subsystem, while EADS handles the laser warner. Much of the described equipment also functions as a control processor for an overall DAS capability.
Incoming alarm
With regard to missile-approach-warning (MAW)/launch-warning systems, current technology can be divided into active radar and passive IR or ultraviolet (UV) equipment. The US arm of BAE Systems, Israel's Elta Systems and Thales' Aerospace Division all produce helicopter-applicable, active, pulse Doppler radar MAWs. BAE Systems' AN/ALR-156(V) system is known to have been installed aboard US [AN/ALR-156(V)1] and Greek CH-47s, while Elta's EL/M-2160 equips Israeli UH-60s and is applicable to Bell 212/412 and Mi-17 helicopters. Thales' MWS-20H system is fitted aboard French Cougar combat search-and-rescue platforms.
Passive MAW/launch warners can be divided into IR and UV equipment; in the IR domain, Israel's Elisra produces the helicopter-applicable Passive Airborne Warning System (PAWS), while BAE Systems in the US produces the AN/AAR-57(V) IR launch warner. This latter sensor forms part of the AN/ALQ-212(V) IR countermeasures suite and is known to have been installed aboard Apache AH Mk 1, MH-47E and MH-60K helicopters. In addition, BAE Systems states that the device is suitable for use aboard a range of rotary-wing platforms including the AH-1W, AH-64D, CH-47, MH-60L, OH-58D, SH-60R, UH-1N and UH-60.
Alliant Techsystems (ATK), China Northeast Research Institute of Technology (CNRIT), EADS Defence Electronics, Northrop Grumman and Saab Avitronics all field UV MAW/launch warners that are suitable for installation aboard rotary-wing platforms. ATK's AN/AAR-47(V) UV MAW has been fitted to a range of helicopter platforms that includes the AH-1W, CH-46, CH-53D, HH-60, MH-47E, UH-1N and SH-60. In its AN/AAR-47(V)2 configuration, the system adds a laser-warning capability, while the AN/AAR-47B(V)2-HFI variant, which is under development, adds a hostile-fire indicator (HFI) module to the architecture's baseline MAW and laser-warning functions. So configured, the AN/AAR-47B(V)2-HFI is expected to be able to provide warning of small-arms fire, anti-aircraft artillery, tracer fire and RPGs.
Protected platform
CNRIT states that its SE-2 unit is suitable for "air vehicle" applications and interfaces with the GT-1 CMDF, while the EADS Missile Launch Detection System (MILDS; also designated as AN/AAR-60) is known to have been qualified for use on CH-47, NH90, Tiger and UH-60 helicopters, and to have been selected for both a Mangusta retrofit programme and an NH90 application. Northrop Grumman's AN/AAR-54(V) is another UV MAW that is used as a baseline sensor for the AN/AAQ-24(V) DIRCM and has been fitted to Dutch AS.532U2 and CH-47D and Japanese UH-60 helicopters. Again, Saab Avitronics' MAW-300 UV MAW forms part of the company's IDAS suite, which has been installed aboard A-109, CH-47, Cougar, Oryx, NH90, Puma, Rooivalk and Super Lynx helicopters.
The third element of the warning triumvirate - laser warners - throws up three helicopter-applicable systems in the form of Elisra's LWS-20V-3, Goodrich's AN/AVR-2A/-2B and Saab Avitronics' LWS-310. Of the three, Elisra's programmable LWS-20V-3 belongs to a family of laser warners that has seen configurations installed aboard Royal Australian Navy S-70B-2 and SH-2G(A) helicopters (although this was subsequently cancelled), Canadian CH-146 Griffons and German Army CH-53G platforms. As well as being a stand-alone sensor, the LWS-20 forms part of Elisra's SPS-65V DAS suite. The AN/AVR-2A(V)/-B(V) laser-detecting sets (with the latter being an update of the former) are effective against beamrider, designator and rangefinder threats, with the generic system being known to have been used aboard AH-1Z, AH-64A/D, AW.101, HH-60H, MH-47E, MH-60K/R, OH-58D and UH-1 helicopters. Saab Avitronics' 0.5 to 1.7 µm band LWS-310 forms part of the company's IDAS suite and is likely to have been installed on the range of IDAS-equipped helicopters cited previously.
The remaining element within the helicopter-applicable threat-warning provision arena is 'hostile fire' sensors. Besides the AN/AAR-47B(V)2-HFI equipment, Jane's can identify two other 'hostile fire' warners, namely UK contractor MS Instruments' Hostile Fire Indicator (HOFIN) Type 740 and a US BAE Systems acoustic sensor that is currently under development and test. The HOFIN Type 740 comprises a sensor array, an indicator and a computer and functions by detecting the shock wave front generated by supersonic projectiles such as bullets and computing their velocity vectors and points of origin. HOFIN is understood to have been supplied to the defence forces of Canada, Italy, the UK and a number of other countries. The BAE Systems development is designed to provide warning of small-arms fire for low-flying helicopters and combines acoustic data, noise reduction/location algorithms and merged information from other onboard sensors to provide threat alerts and a direction-of-fire solution. The new sensor has been flight tested aboard an MD 500N helicopter and has been subjected to live fire from a 0.5 inch calibre machine gun, an assault rifle and a heavy-barrelled sniper rifle.
Jane's has identified a range of contractors that produce helicopter DAS systems incorporating multiple threat-warning and/or countering subsystems, with the list including BAE Systems, Elisra, IMI, ITT Electronic Systems, Saab Avitronics, Selex Galileo and Terma. BAE Systems' AN/ALQ-212(V) Suite of Integrated IR Countermeasures (SIIRCM) comprises a MAW control unit, the AN/AAR-57(V) MAW, a jamming head control unit/processor, the AN/ALE-47 CMDS (with 'smart' IR payloads) and the laser-based ATIRCM DIRCM subsystem, which incorporates two jamming heads. As such, AN/ALQ-212(V) is known to have been procured for installation aboard the MH-47E and MH-60K helicopters.
Defence suite
The same platforms have also received the ITT Electronic Systems AN/ALQ-211(V) Suite of Integrated Radio-Frequency Countermeasures (SIRFC). Designated as the AN/ALQ-211(V)6 (MH-47E) and -211(V)7 (MH-60K), the 'special forces' SIRFCs offer their hosts radar warning, threat geolocation, RF jamming and situational awareness (SA). Elsewhere in the world, the AN/ALQ-211(V)5 system has been selected for installation aboard Norwegian NH90 helicopters. The application provides radar warning, SA, an electronic support capability, laser/missile-warning data fusion and CMDS control, with the whole having an RF jamming growth path if required.
Elisra's SPS-65V warning suite combines radar (via the SPS-20 subsystem) and laser (LWS-20) warning and has been applied to Canadian CH-146 Griffon and German CH-53G helicopters. IMI's AIRMOR suite is built up from the AN/AAR-60/MILDS MAW, a radar warner, the JAM-AIR DIRCM (replacing a fixed-source IR jammer in an earlier iteration), a CMDS (IMI's SAMP system) and management and control/display units. An AIRMOR configuration is understood to have been selected for a Turkish helicopter programme.
Alongside the already described IDAS architecture (a version of which Swiss contractor RUAG is believed to have installed aboard Swedish Puma and Swiss Cougar helicopters), Saab Avitronics has launched its Compact Integrated DAS (CIDAS), which is aimed at NH90-class helicopters, among other platforms. As currently promoted, the architecture can be supplied in CIDAS100 and CIDAS300 configurations, with the former incorporating the company's LWS-310 laser and MAW-300 missile warners, together with a control unit and a BOP-series CMDS. CIDAS300 adds an RWS-300 radar warner to the CIDAS100 capability.
Federated system
Selex Galileo's Helicopter Integrated DAS (HIDAS) is built around a DAS controller, the Sky Guardian 2000 radar warner, a Type 1223 laser warner, the AN/AAR-57(V) MAW and a Vicon 78 Series 455 CMDS. Aside from installations aboard Greek, Kuwaiti and UK AH-64s and UK Merlin HC Mk 3s, a HIDAS variant (designated HIDAS 15) has been mandated for the UK's Future Lynx programme. In addition, Selex Galileo has developed the Aircraft Gateway Processor (AGP), which is designed to manage a host platform's DAS provision and provide its crew with a single-page SA display. Other system features include built-in test, parametric data recording and the ability to generate geographic area inhibits, weapon-system linkage tags and manoeuvre cues. AGP is understood to be mandated for use on US AH-64D Block II helicopters, tying together the platform's AN/AAR-57(V), AN/APR-39A(V) and AN/AVR-2B threat warners together with its AN/ALE-47 CMDS. AGP may also have been selected for a helicopter application by the United Arab Emirates.
Terma's AMASE and CHASE suites have been developed to protect Dutch AH-64Ds and CH-47F(NL)s respectively. As such, AMASE is a modular, pod-mounted equipment that incorporates a MAW [either the AN/AAR-54(V), -57(V) or 60(V)2] and either a CMDS or the AN/AAQ-24(V) DIRCM, with the whole being managed by the company's Electronic Warfare Management System (EWMS). The CHASE suite consists of the mini-tracker variant of the AN/AAQ-24(V) DIRCM, a CMDS, the AN/AAR-54(V) MAW and Terma's EWMS.
Martin Streetly is Consultant Editor of Jane's Radar & Electronic Warfare Systems, based in London
