Efficient Testing for Jammers for IED Defeat
The Dutch Defence Materel Organisation (DMO) has awarded a €1.8 million contract to Rohde & Schwarz Benelux to provide signal and spectrum analysis solutions and recording equipment for the TESt Lane Analysis Mobile (TESLA-M) programme.
Helping to protect Dutch military personnel in the field, TESLA-M will see the installation of the Rohde & Schwarz equipment in Mercedes SPRINTER 4×4 vans: the company will partner with Contour Advanced Systems for assembly and integration of the TESLA-M vehicle.
This provides the Dutch MoD with a high-quality mobile measurement setup to test various types of jammer configurations, in order to protect personnel from a wide variety of remote-controlled IEDs – which have become a daily reality in conflict and are considered by the armed forces to be tactical weapons with a strategic effect. TESLA-M is used to develop the best possible threat coverage for jammers aimed at mitigating and defeating the IEDs.
The MoD will receive an improved measurement and control vehicle in 2021 that validates jammers now and for the future; the DMO expects TESLA-M to have a minimum lifespan of nine years.
Under the contract, Rohde & Schwarz Benelux will provide:
• The R&S FSW signal and spectrum analyzer, offering analysis bandwidth for wideband-modulated or frequency-agile signals;
• The R&S SMW200A vector signal generator for digitally modulated signals, required for the development of new wideband communications systems;
• The R&S IQW wideband I/Q data recorder, offering wide recording bandwidth and high sampling rate and bit depth.
“Thanks to TESLA-M, we will be able to protect our soldiers from RC-IEDs,” said H D Mooibroek, Project manager, DMO. “With this future-proof installation, Dutch Defence is prepared for current and future RC-IED threats and [to] set the tone internationally. This is possible with the help of TESLA-M; a high-quality mobile measuring set-up with which various types of jammer configurations can be tested.”