(^12) | AsiAn MilitAry review |
any distinct USAF programme to retrofit the existing inventory
with this enhancement.
The MALD-J grew out of the USAF’s ADM-160A/B MALD
programme. The ADM-160A was designed to mimic the electro-
magnetic signature of the aircraft from which it was launched,
the intended effect being to confuse radar operators as to which
target on their screens is in fact the real aircraft: The more ADM-
160As launched, the larger the number of false returns presented
to the radar and the greater the ensuring confusion. Although
both the Alpha and Bravo ADM-160 variants are similar, the
Bravo employs a more powerful engine, and a redesigned
airframe. As its name suggests, the MALD-J adds the ability to
jam hostile radars. The USAF now retains only the ADM-160C
in service. The decoy is cleared for use onboard the General
Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon fighter,
which can carry four, and the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress
strategic bomber which can accommodate 16. To this end, the
company is working with the US Navy to examine the feasibility
of deploying the MALD-J onboard the US Navy’s Boeing F/A-
18E/F Super Hornet fighters.
The ‘active ingredient’ of the decoy is a Northrop Grumman
Signature Augmentation System (SAS) which is thought to
actively transmit Radio Frequency (RF) emissions which copy
those produced when the carrying aircraft reflects RF in specific
radar bands. The ADM-160C may well continue to include the
SAS, possibly affording the crew a choice between using either
spoofing or jamming tactics, or it may dispense with the SAS
altogether to provide solely a jamming function intended to
blind enemy radars with noise.
Additional electronic warfare news has been forthcoming
from Israel’s Bird Aerosystems. In mid-February, the firm
unveiled its new AeroShield podded aircraft self-protection
system. This is designed to protect wide-body civilian and
military aircraft against infrared-guided surface-to-air missiles
using both flares and a directional infrared countermeasure.
The firm states that the AeroShield is “smaller and lighter than
any (other) pod solution” which provides similar protection.
Moreover, AeroShield packages the firm’s Airborne Missile
Protection System (AMPS) family which has been developed
in cooperation with Airbus’ defence and space division which
provides protection against similar threats.
The AMPS family includes the AMPS-M, which provides
protection for both civil and military aircraft against infrared-
guided Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS); a
similar system designated as the AMPS-MV which is designed
specifically for civil aircraft; the AMPS-ML which can also detect
laser-guided surface-to-air missile threats, while the AMPS-MLR
adds the ability to detect RF-guided SAMs in addition to laser-
and infrared guided weapons. The company told AMR that
AeroShield is currently in service and is designed to equip wide-
body aircraft such as Boeing’s B737 and B777 family airliners,
and Airbus’ A380 family. The AeroShield includes the AMPS-
MV system (see above), and the installation is mounted on the
aircraft’s fuselage. The firm added that the AeroShield is under
contract to provide protection for dignitary aircraft, principally
unnamed B737 and B777 operators. The only known operator of
a B777 used as a transport for dignitaries is the Abu Dhabi Amiri
Flight which operates one Boeing 777-200ER and a single 777-
300ER airliner for use by the government of Abu Dhabi. AMR
‘day without satellite’, a situation in which an adversary denies
satellite communications to the US and its allies, either through
surface-to-air or air-to-air missile attacks against communications
satellites or by the adoption of large-scale electronic jamming,
or both. Wideband HF radio is seen as one mechanism by
which such attacks could be electronically outflanked, given
the intercontinental ranges offered by HF communications.
Furthermore, the ability to move large quantities of data using
HF over intercontinental ranges is supplemented by the ability
to move such data quantities across large theatres. As a means of
comparison, Operation BARKHANE which involves the French
armed forces combating Islamist insurgents in the Sahel region
of North Africa involves an eight-nation coalition (Burkina Faso,
Chad, France, Germany, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and the United
Kingdom). According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the
entire Sahel region spans a total of 5400 kilometres/km (
miles) west-to-east from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.
Although it varies in depth, the same WWF document states that
it can be up to a 1000km (620 miles) thick in some areas. This
adds up to a region which has a surface area of over 3 million
square kilometres (1.1 million square miles). Mr. De Risio added
that the RF-400H-MP has been ordered by the US Department of
Defence and will equip the US Army, navy, air force and the US
Marine Corps, with deliveries having commenced in March 2017.
Electronic Warfare
Raytheon has told AMR that it is currently delivering its
ADM-160C Miniature Air-Launched Decoy-Jammer (MALD-J)
equipped with the weapon’s Global Positioning System (GPS)
Aided Inertial Navigation System-II (GAINS-II) enhancement.
The GAINS-II enhancement, according to the company, achieves
the twin benefits of improving the navigation capabilities of
the ADM-160C, while also ensuring that the ADM-160C can do
this within a GPS denied environment. According to Jim Long,
MALD business development lead at the company, all of the
ADM-160C systems currently being produced for the United
States Air Force are outfitted with the GAINS-II enhancement.
Moreover, he stated that the GAINS-II improvement can be
retrofitted onto existing ADM-160C systems already in USAF
service, although he added that he was not currently aware of
Bird Aerosystems’ AeroShield is designed to equip wide-body aircraft with a defence
against both infrared and RF-guided missiles. The system is believed to be in service on a
number of aircraft used for transporting dignitaries.
Bird Aerosystems
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