Company will offer radar sensor and DIRCM on self-protection system.

Speaking during the Singapore Air Show being held in the city between 6th and 9th February, officials from Hensoldt told MONS that the company is updating its AMPS (Airborne Missile Protection System) aircraft self protection architecture with a radar sensor and new Direction Infra-Red Countermeasure (DIRCM).

The pulse Doppler turret-mounted radar sensor will equip the existing AMPS architecture and will transmit in a Ka-band frequency of 35 gigahertz. The logic behind the addition of the radar sensor is to reduce the overall false alarm rate of the ultraviolet-based missile warning system which equips AMPS with the radar providing a ‘second pair of eyes’ which can be directed towards the threat detected by the MWS to confirm that it is indeed a flying object. The turret imposes a weight penalty of 17.6 pounds (eight kilograms) on the aircraft, with two radar sensors offering false alarm mitigation for any AMPS-equipped rotorcraft, with a single turret sufficient to provide false alarm mitigation for a fixed-wing platform. Hensoldt officials continued that the radar sensor is already flying as part of an AMPS equipping an Africa-based Boeing B-737 series transport configured for the carriage of dignitaries, and also helicopters assisting United Nations peacekeeping missions.

Regarding the DIRCM, Hensoldt officials continued that the firm had selected the Selex/Leonardo MYSIS DIRCM to equip the AMPS. The company is confident that it will have completed the process of integrating this with the overall AMPS architecture by the end of the year with the conclusion of all of the necessary documentation. The officials added that the MYSIS will be offered as part of the AMPS architecture for new customers, and also as a retrofit option for existing AMPS users.

Thomas Withington