Armada’s monthly round-up of all the latest electronic warfare news in the product, programme and operational domains.
New naval ESMs
On 9th July, Rohde & Schwarz announced that the company had concluded a contract with PGZ Stocznia Wojenna to support the Marynarka Wojenna (Polish Navy) Miecznik frigate programme. A press release revealed that Rohde & Schwarz will supply several Electronic Warfare (EW) systems. These systems include the company’s Radar and Communications Electronic Support Measures (RCESM) for the three new frigates. Rohde & Schwarz told Armada via a written statement that the RCESM is “adaptable and scalable to specific requirements.” The system “detects, identifies and locates complex and broadband radar emissions and captures enemy communications.” Signals intelligence collected by the RCESM is combined to provide “an extended picture of the entire electromagnetic spectrum.” The statement added that “(t)he solution’s particularly high sensitivity and accuracy results in an increased range coverage and early warning capability (and it) protects navy vessels against time-critical threats.” Rohde & Schwarz declined to provide details of the contract’s value and timelines for delivery citing confidentiality.
Got your back
The US Army’s Terrestrial Layered System–Brigade Combat Team (TLS-BCT) backpack Electronic Warfare (EW) apparatus is on course for service entry by the end of 2024. The backpack will be deployed with dismounted troops at the tactical level and is being developed and produced by Mastodon Design. In early July, the army’s Intelligence, EW and Sensors Programme Executive Office (PEO IEWS) announced it had awarded the company a contract worth $99.9 million. The contract encompasses “the procurement, training, and fielding” of the TLS-BCT backpack. The news was announced via a PEO IEWS press release. The document continued that the deployment of the first TLS-BCT backpacks should occur by the end of 2024. A PEO IEWS spokesperson told Armada that the equipment “provides a small form factor full spectrum signals intelligence, EW, and cyber-enabling, non-kinetic offensive operation capabilities to BCT commanders” near the tactical edge. TLS-BCT backpacks will be “fielded to infantry, armoured, and Stryker formations operating across regionally aligned areas of responsibilities.”
AFWERX work
HawkEye 360 has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase-2 contract by the US Air Force’s AFWERX programme. The AFWERX initiative aims to identify and nurture the innovations of small businesses which may benefit the air force. According to US Department of Defence definitions, SBIR Phase-2 contracts run for between twelve and 18 months and are typically worth up to $2 million. The contracts are intended to help move a technology or innovation towards a prototype stage. Under the terms of the contract, a HawkEye 360 press release said that the company will deliver its RFGeo signal mapping and RFIQ emitter analysis data to AFWERX. A statement from HawkEye 360 supplied to Armada said that these data will be delivered over the next twelve months.
by Dr. Thomas Withington
