Leonardo has been selected by the UK Government's Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) to lead a team of UK companies working on a project to protect UK Army vehicles from current and future threats. As part of the technology development program (Technology Demonstrator Program - TDP) "Icarus", the team will have to develop and test a solution to integrate the best existing technologies into Active Protection Systems (APS), containing costs and preparing for its implementation throughout the Army's vehicle fleet. Part of the program will see the team led by Leonardo engaged in validating a prototype in shooting exercises. The team members working with Leonardo on the Icarus program are: BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin UK, Ultra Electronics, Frazer-Nash, Abstract Solutions, Roke Manor Research and SCISYS and the University of Brighton.
The project was born in response to an operating environment in which armor alone is not sufficient to defend against the offensive capabilities of the weapon systems of the future, in particular grenade launchers (Rocket Propelled Grenades - RPG) and anti-tank missiles (Anti-Tank Guided Weapons – ATGW). In order to counter these growing threats, the industry has developed a number of APS technologies and solutions are available on the market to complement the physical protection guaranteed by an armored vehicle. APS technologies can be of two types: "soft", which aim to quickly detect the incoming threat to disturb or deceive it, and "hard", which aim to physically intercept the threat to neutralize it, a method known in the field military as a “kinetic effect”.
While APS technologies are already available today and will continue to be developed by industry, there is no one-size-fits-all solution that fits every situation or even every single threat. The main difficulty lies in being able to quickly and cost-effectively customize a combination of APS technologies for the vehicle, in order to optimize the survivability of the vehicle itself, before or during use.
In this context, the primary objective of the Icarus program is to develop and validate in the United Kingdom a national electronic architecture for integrated and modular protection systems (Modular, Integrated Protection System – MIPS) which allows the selection, integration and implementation of sensors APS and the most suitable countermeasures to neutralize a wide range of current and future threats. The architecture in question must be not only easy to use but also available at low cost and reliable; moreover, it must lay the foundations for a new MIPS defense standard, similar in principle to the one developed for the British GVA (Generic Vehicle Architecture) standard, which guarantees full interoperability between the different devices of a vehicle.
To ensure the best cost-effective solution, Leonardo has established a team bringing together a number of UK experts in their respective fields and representation from UK academia, who can draw on previous UK investments in related technology fields .
As part of the Icarus programme, in collaboration with Dstl, the team led by Leonardo will establish and implement a community of interest (Community of Interest - CoI) in the ODA sector. One of the primary goals of this initiative is to encourage industry-wide involvement to ensure that the most advanced security technologies available, now and in the future, are included in the MIPS architecture.
As part of the technological development program for the "CDAS" (Common Defensive Aids System) protection systems, again in collaboration with the Dstl, Leonardo carries out similar activities of integration of APS technologies for the British fleet of helicopters. Both the CDAS program and Icarus are based on decades of experience in providing integrated protection systems and solutions to the UK Armed Forces and allied forces. Recently, Leonardo has supplied protection systems for the British AW159 Wildcat, Apache, Puma, Chinook and Merlin helicopters, which integrate a series of sensors and protection equipment which, taken together, form a complete defense suite. The company also leads the EuroDASS consortium, which supplies the Praetorian protection system for the Eurofighter Typhoon.
