Leonardo (Hall D, Stand D208) is pitching its BriteEye electronic warfare suite to meet an Indonesian air force requirement for a self-protection capability for its BAE Systems Hawk light attack/trainer fleet, building on the SEER capability already installed on board the aircraft.
The system is a low-cost aircraft protection system that defends platforms from radar-guided threats in a single system, cueing the launch of appropriate effects from a countermeasure dispensing system.
It incorporates the company’s SEER radar warning receiver (RWR) capability to detect the threats – a system that is already integrated onto Indonesia’s Hawks – before cueing countermeasures including flare or Leonardo’s BriteCloud expendable radar-jamming decoy. As Leonardo provides the whole suite, it can offer an end-to-end radio-frequency protection capability, offering more interoperability between the different elements, it says. “Our SEER radar warning receiver, which detects and identifies potential radar threats and alerts the pilot, is already installed on board Indonesian air force Hawks,” Alberto Pietra, director of marketing and sales for Leonardo’s Airborne and Space Systems division, told the Show Daily.
“We’re now looking to go a step further and are offering complete end-to-end protection from radar-guided threats, including our world-leading BriteCloud expendable radar-jamming decoy, which is now in service with the UK’s Royal Air Force.”
Indonesia has been actively seeking a RWR capability for its Hawk fleet, in order to effectively protect it during light attack missions.
“With BriteEye on board, the Indonesian air force would have the freedom to operate in areas that would otherwise be off-limits due to modern ground radar emplacements,” Pietra noted.
“Any incoming radar-guided threats would be picked up by SEER and could then be automatically directed away from the aircraft by our BriteCloud decoy, without adding any additional workload for the pilot.”
Leonardo added that it is already working with Indonesian pilots and technicians to ensure the air force is getting the most out of its SEER systems; updating them so they can effectively react to new threats as they emerge.
(IndoDefence Show Daily)