Leonardo announced, on the occasion of the FIDAE Airshow in Chile from 3 to 8 April, that it has been awarded a contract by the UK Ministry of Defense to supply a Defensive Aids Suite – DAS for the new fleet of helicopters Army AH-64E Apache fighter jet. Based on agreements with the British Ministry of Defense and Boeing, Leonardo will integrate sensors and countermeasures to guarantee these helicopters the highest level of protection in the world.
Combat helicopters like the Apachis fly at relatively low speeds when compared to fighters and often at low altitudes, which is why they are vulnerable to a wide range of threats, including infra-red-guided missiles and anti-tank guided weapons. An integrated security suite greatly helps defend the helicopter from threats. A complete system includes sensors to identify hazards, appropriate countermeasures and a computer that can coordinate the entire system, linking incoming alarms with protection techniques such as chaff or flare.
Defense Procurement Minister Guto Bebb said, "The British Apache provides our Armed Forces with world-class combat capabilities. Today's announcement predicts that our aircraft are equipped with innovative protection, which will quickly identify and defeat potential threats. All of this is also an impulse for employment in the United Kingdom, as part of the recently announced government update program, the Defense Industrial Policy Refresh ".
Each Apache AH-64E that leaves the production line, regardless of the end user, has already incorporated a computer of Leonardo's security suite, known as 'AGP' (Aircraft Gateway Processor). The new project will lead Leonardo to enhance the protection suite of the British Apache with the integration of a series of sensors and countermeasures, to strengthen the situational awareness and survival of the helicopter.
The integrated sensor in the helicopter will include the SG200-D radar alert receiver from Leonardo (the specific UK variant of the company's SEER family) and will reuse some systems that are currently on board the Apache AH Mk1 fleet of the Army. These re-used sensors and effectors include Leonardo's S1223 laser alert receiver, the AN / AAR-57 missile alert sensor from BAE Systems and the Vicon countermeasure launch system from Thales. Initially such systems will be acquired from the warehouses where the spare parts are managed, and will subsequently be available once the AH Mk1s are withdrawn from the service in the 2023 / 2024. This means that the British Army will be able to manage the transition to the new type of helicopter without interruption, with both the old and new models equipped with protection suites integrated into operations.
The installation will be conducted by Leonardo at the Luton plant and the complete system will then be integrated by Boeing into its AH-64E production line in the United States. All 50 helicopters acquired by the British Defense will be able to operate with the protection suite.
Equipping AH-64E Apaches with UK-made protection systems brings a significant benefit to the Army, allowing the MoD to autonomously reprogram the helicopter's protection suite to address changing combat conditions. This is a fundamental function, the so-called 'Electronic Warfare Operational Support' (EWOS), an operational support service for electronic protection systems. In this area, the UK has developed world-class capabilities in the Ministry of Defense's Air Warfare Center at Waddington Air Force Base, supported by Leonardo at its Lincoln site.
Leonardo already provides security suites with support for the various helicopter fleets of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom. The current Apache AH Mk1 are all equipped with the HIDAS system, 'Helicopter Integrated Defensive Aids Suite'. Leonardo's AW159 Wildcats, operated by the British Army and the Royal Navy, are also equipped with HIDAS systems.
In addition to the protection suite for the new British helicopters, Leonardo has modernized all the UK Chinooks with protection capabilities, including the latest HC Mk 6 model.
In this project, Leonardo has combined all of the Chinook sensors and effectors into an integrated system that offers decision-making capabilities similar to those of the HIDAS suite. The company has also conducted a similar modernization exercise on the British Puma fleet and is currently doing the same for the Merlin helicopter as part of the HC Mk 4 upgrade programme. Like the AH-64E Apaches, Puma and Chinook RAF are receiving enhanced radar warning capabilities with Leonardo's SG200-D, which in the case of the Pumas and Chinooks is replacing the company's previously installed Sky Guardian 200 systems.
In addition to helicopters, Leonardo also creates integrated protection suites for fighter jets. In this context, he leads the EuroDASS consortium which supplies the Praetorian sub-system (Praetorian Defensive Aids Sub System) for Eurofighter Typhoon. The company recently obtained a contract to modernize the Praetorian on the RAF's Typhoon.
