Israel’s BIRD Aerosystems is presenting its Airborne Missile Protection System (AMPS) and Self Protection Radar Electro-Optic System (SPREOS) directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) systems at the IDEX defence exhibition for the first time this month. The show, located in Abu Dhabi, is taking place from 20 to 24 February 2023.
Already operationally deployed in dangerous conflict zones worldwide, AMPS provides enhanced protection for military and civilian aircraft against the growing threat from manportable surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems. It is designed to automatically detect, verify, and foil SAM attacks by jamming any threat missile’s infrared seeker to protect the aircraft.
BIRD’s SPREOS DIRCM system, meanwhile, ensures optimal platform protection, can differentiate between real threats and false alarms, can precisely assess the nature of the threat, and can cue an advanced, dual-band quantum cascade laser (QCL) to defeat the threat, according to the company.
BIRD is additionally demonstrating a couple of its other products at IDEX 2023. Its ASIO solution for maritime patrol and border surveillance missions is an end-to-end aerial/naval/land surveillance solution that provides an advanced multi-layered approach to defend territorial waters against security, economic, and ecological threats.
The company’s Micro Maritime Patrol Radar (µMPR), meanwhile, is a miniature airborne radar with advanced proprietary technology for maritime border protection. Ideal for installation on small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), small helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft, the µMPR leverages BIRD’s radar technologies along with millimetre-wave technology to cut through sea clutter, improve detection capability, and significantly increase mission effectiveness and cost efficiency, the company states.
The µMPR is being presented at IDEX 2023 on two platforms made by other Israeli companies: the Black Eagle 50H rotary-wing UAV produced by Steadicopter and the Orbiter 4 tactical UAV made by Aeronautics.
Peter Felstead
