Dstl to develop Active Protection System technology

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has placed a contract with Leonardo to improve the survivability and protection of Land Armoured Vehicles through Active Protection System (APS) technology. APS can detect and defeat threat missiles within 100 milliseconds, which is less time than half the time it takes a human to react to a visual cue.

As the performance and sophistication of modern battlefield weapon systems continues to improve, the vulnerability of Land Armoured Vehicles and their crew to these threats continues to increase. Dstl is conducting a proof of concept Technical Demonstrator Programme (TDP) to develop a Modular Integrated Protection System (MIPS). Under the Icarus TDP, Leonardo will lead a team of UK industry experts to develop an APS Electronic Architecture (EA) that is founded upon Modular Open System Architecture design principles.

The MIPS Electronic Architecture will provide a common infrastructure that will deliver UK operational sovereignty and enable “best of breed” commercial off the shelf APS sensors and countermeasures to be selected, integrated and deployed to defeat a wide range of current and future battlefield threats. This will enable the provision of a weight-efficient and affordable protection system capability that can be tailored to protect military vehicles against threats such as Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and Anti-Tank Guided Weapons (ATGWs) thereby helping to protect the lives of the UK Armed Forces.

The TDP will initially secure 45 jobs and has the potential to create up to 250 jobs if the protection system demonstrated is subsequently deployed across the UK Armoured Vehicle fleet.

The Icarus TDP is worth £10million to the UK economy.

Richard Hooper, Icarus TDP Technical Lead at Dstl said: “By equipping land vehicles with a sustainable and effective active protection capability we will enable mission success to be achieved in ever-more challenging environments.”

Ray Hopkins, Vice President Capability UK for Leonardo said: “The MIPS electronic architecture to be developed under the Icarus TDP will enhance survivability across the UK Land Armoured Vehicle fleet by allowing vehicles to be rapidly tailored to counter threats in specific operational scenarios. We look forward to working with Dstl, our team members, and APS equipment vendors to deliver a future operational advantage to the British Army that will both save lives and protect equipment.”