BIRD Aerosystems completes delivery and commissioning of AMPS solution for unnamed African air force

Israel’s BIRD Aerosystems has completed the delivery, integration and commissioning of its Advanced Airborne Missile Protection Systems (AMPS) for an unnamed African air force, the company announced on 28 October 2025.

The project involved installing and flight testing AMPS on a fleet of Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopters, ensuring full operational readiness and enhanced protection against advanced surface-to-air missile threats.

African air forces that operate both these helicopter types include those of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

At the heart of the AMPS solution is BIRD’s proprietary Self-Protection Radar Electro-Optic System (SPREOS) directional infra-red countermeasures system (DIRCM): an advanced, patented countermeasures suite that uses an infra-red sensor to detect, verify, track and defeat missile threats. SPREOS automatically confirms and neutralises incoming threats with virtually zero false alarms for reliable, real-time protection against manportable air defence systems, according to the company.

The installation also includes BIRD’s μEYE missile warning sensor (MWS): a compact opto-electronic sensor that delivers fast, wide-area missile detection and enhances crew situational awareness.

“The seamless integration of both SPREOS and μEYE provides an accelerated time-to-market advantage, offering a fully field-proven and interoperable solution ready for immediate deployment,” BIRD stated.

“The successful delivery and commissioning of this AMPS configuration, featuring our in-house-developed SPREOS and μEYE sensors, is a significant milestone that deepens our partnership with this key African air force,” Ronen Factor, co-CEO and founder of BIRD Aerosystems, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “By developing and manufacturing these MWS entirely in-house, we ensure unmatched flexibility, swift customisation and dramatically improved time to market for our customers. We are proud to deliver a

combat-proven turnkey solution that enhances fleet readiness and ensures maximum crew safety in challenging environments.”