OCCAR Awards Contracts for €90 Million
OCCAR has awarded Indra contracts with an aggregate value of €90 million ($96 million) to equip the Spanish Army’s 18 Tiger Mk III helicopters with next-generation mission and electronic defence systems, allowing the Army to confornt unpredictable and sophisticated future threats.
With the evolution to the Mk III configuration ordered by OCCAR in March, Spanish Army Tigers will be prepared to face new threats that incorporate the advanced guidance systems – much more sophisticated, sensitive and difficult-to-detect – that the enemy will use to prevent them from accessing areas of interest, thus jeopardizing their security.
To guarantee superiority and dominance, Indra will equip the helicopters with state-of-the-art digital solutions for self-protection EW systems, and the most modern tactical mission system (SPC2) available, which will begin flying in 2030. Indra will also provide the whole Mk III fleet, including Spain and France, with IFF systems – a total of 82 helicopters.
The EW self-protection suite will feature a sophisticated radar warning receiver system, the ALR-400FD Full Digital, which offers direct spectrum digitisation with great signal processing capability in order to detect surveillance systems and targeting sensors before they lock onto the platform. It also incorporates the EW Manager function, responsible for managing and integrating all self-protection elements and activating countermeasures to automatically neutralise ground-to-air or air-to-air attack. The new version of the Tiger will thus share technology with the aircraft of over 15 armed services, for which Indra is already implementing this type of system – including NH-90, AS-532, CH-47F and CH-53 helicopters, A400M and C-295 airlifters, Gulfstream G-505 mission aircraft and F/A-18 fighters.
The IFF system will allow both identification of the platform itself to third parties and the interrogation of other aircraft, using the CIT-25A combined interrogator/transponder. The equipment is complemented by elements such as the remote control box, the control matrix and a Mode 5 crypto-computer, a clear capability upgrade. The integration also includes US DoD AIMS certification, in order to be able to operate in all types of international scenarios, a prerequisite for IFFs operating with the new Mode 5 Identification within NATO.
Finally, Indra’s tactical mission system (SPC2) will enable interoperability of the helicopter with C2 systems, to provide commanders and pilots with a digital view of the battlefield in real time. The helicopter will be able to relay and synchronise tactical information from multiple platforms, correlating, fusing, and routing data with tactical information collected by the platform’s various sensors. The ultimate goal is to facilitate pilot decision-making, by reducing uncertainty and ensuring perfect operational execution, with total coordination ensuring agility, precision and increased chance of success.
“Once again, Indra demonstrates an extraordinary capacity to develop next-generation systems, with 100% Spanish technology, thanks to its extensive operational experience, the commitment to the development of critical systems, and a strong spirit of collaboration with clients, companies, research centres and universities across the continent, which are key to its contribution to the definitive consolidation of European defence,” stated Ignacio Mataix, Indra CEO.
