Advanced Sensors & Countermeasures
Tuesday June 22nd, 2010, 1600hrs–1730hrs
Passive Countermeasures - Improving Performance in Anti Air Warfare
Mr. Richard Lord, Chemring Countermeasures Ltd., United Kingdom
The threat faced by ships has reduced in intensity since the demise of the Cold War but it is now more diverse and increasing in capability through the use of the latest technologies.
Traditionally, ships use hard kill to provide primary defence of both self and lesser armed ships in company, however the cost and complexity of such systems places severe pressure on constrained military budgets. Paradoxically, the more expensive the ship, the fewer there are likely to be and thus the ability to defend adjacent ships in company is limited by the defending ship being in the right place at the right time.
Recently there has been a renaissance in interest in the use of soft kill systems with its associated techniques to defend ships from 300 to 20,000 tons. The lesser delivery accuracy required from that of hard kill reduces significantly the cost of delivery systems and new technologies are generating improved methods to defeat the missile’s guidance system sensor – the seeker. However, more initiatives are required to explore the range and potential of “ship-like” payloads. Passive decoys can be non-threat specific within the frequency domain of the particular missile’s seeker.
Security classification issues of course prevent disclosure of the very latest trends in decoys – the Paper instead sets the scene with a hard to soft kill comparison and calls for more military – industrial cooperation to consider, develop and produce advanced soft kill systems with more “ship-like” decoys. The reward is ship defence at an affordable price and fitted in sufficient numbers to ensure that all vessels worthy of protection (self and in company) are protected on the day it is needed.
As a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of launch vehicles with passive decoys, CCM is able to consider participation in such initiatives to the benefit of the nations concerned. Recent developments within CCM will now further advance system capability. Actual cooperation will require British Government export approvals.
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