Being on time means already being late, as some military might say. Similarly, as the speed and variety of potential threats to military air platforms continues to increase – e.g. missiles, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), small arms – knowing the threat is on its way means already being hit. Today more than ever before, platform survivability starts with the earliest possible warning. It starts with knowing when the threat is being fired and from where.

 

For Thales, platform survivability against such wide range of threats starts with its latest generation threat warning (missiles and hostile fire) system: Elix-IR®. Leveraging the latest advances in Infra-Red (IR) detection technology, Elix-IR®  detects the IR signature generated by both the launch and the flight of the incoming projectile to provide the crew with timely and accurate identification, tracking and fire post geolocation.

 

Hot and clear

 

Until recently, missile warning systems relied on Ultra Violet (UV) technologies to detect and track an incoming missile threat. The premise was that missile motors provided sufficient UV signature to be detected at useful ranges, which along with the near zero clutter background required modest amounts of the limited process available to declare the threat.  

There are three key issues with relying on UV for threat detection. Firstly, if the missile launch is not detected the signature from the launch may not either, thus reducing the chances of the platform Defensive Aids System (DAS) and crew knowing that they are being engaged and/or by what, and are therefore unable to counter the threat. Secondly, UV missile warners may also miss the missile motor’s UV signature in flight. Thirdly, such systems are generally unable to detect gunfire unless the incoming rounds are mixed with tracer rounds, or the system/platform has an additional acoustic or other ballistic detection sensor. ”Elix-IR®, as a Threat Warning System, does it all from a single sensor system” says George Butler, Head of Sales.

 

Sitting at a different segment of the electromagnetic spectrum to UV, Thales has invested in the Medium Waveband IR to counter advances in missile technology, specifically to take advantage of the better atmospheric transmission allowing longer range detection and increased reaction times. “The IR based technology inherent in Elix-IR®  provides greater detail in the scene being observed, greater fidelity when detecting IR signatures in clutter and greater accuracy when identifying and confirming the presence of threats to platform,” says George Butler.

As such, relying on IR technology in combination with Thales’s advanced algorithms, Elix-IR®  can not only provide the accurate geolocation of a threat launch, it can also identify and accurately track missiles and hostile fire projectiles at their maximum effective ranges. “Whilst missiles are considered the most deadly of threats to air platforms, the proliferation of small to heavy calibre guns in the asymmetric war fighting scenarios has led to them having a significant effect on platform survivability and mission success. Whilst much can be done to add armour to protect against small calibre weapons, the medium and heavy calibre weapons require a method of alerting the crew to take action.” Butler points out.

Armed forces are deployed across a wide variety of operating environments to serve multiple missions. It is therefore not uncommon for these missions to take place with low visibility, impacting both land and air forces – whether rotorcraft are stirring sand and debris as they lift or approach or whether meteorological conditions are unfavourable.

 

“One of the great advantages of operating in the Medium Wave IR band that Thales has exploited in the development of Elix-IR®, is its ability to contribute to a more accurate, detailed and comprehensive situational awareness picture,” Butler comments. Elix-IR®  has an added benefit in that there is a recognisable image that can be used by the crew to enhance their overall situational awareness (SA), including invaluable support in Degraded Visual Environments (DVE). The image can be made available in-cockpit via Head-Down and Head-Up devices or distributed further within the platform to Rear Crew, such as a door-gunner, to assist in the direction of counter-fire onto the threat fire post. 

Fusing IR information with data from other sensors – such as EO/IR turrets and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) – can contribute to a more complete 360 degree picture of the scene around the platform, allowing armed forces to see and understand the situation around them.

Further down the line, Thales also foresees the potential for Elix-IR®  to enhance platform survivability by training the system’s algorithm to detect drones. “In the future, we expect the system to be able to recognise drones’ signature and identify them as threats,” according to Butler.

 

From launch to countermeasures  

 

Detecting and tracking is but one part of the full chain ensuring platform survivability. Once an airborne platform knows it has been engaged, it needs to trigger the appropriate defensive response.

 

Thales’ Elix-IR has been designed to facilitate integration with the whole suite of systems, from detection to countermeasures. It can function with any type of DAS controller to enable the selection of appropriate countermeasures, which can then be dispensed through Thales’ Vicon XF Countermeasure Dispensing System (CMDS) – also designed with NATO standard interfaces to be system agnostic.

 

Just as importantly, Vicon XF was designed as an intelligent dispenser system capable of communicating directly with the expendables in the dispenser in order to be able to deploy the most accurate cocktail of expendables and appropriate sequence to effectively counter the threat.  Vicon XF+ will integrate established NATO STANAG 4781 open standard Smart Stores Communications Interface (SSCI) with associated Smart Store functionality to enable in-air-defined techniques. “It is a state-of-the-art dispenser that has been designed to provide significant room for growth and adaptability to future countermeasure technologies,” Butler concludes.