The Israeli company introduced a compact electronic warfare system for UAVs.
Drones are increasingly having to fly where the enemy jams ties, looking for targets with radar and is trying to disrupt the flight of electronic warfare. The Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems introduced the STORM SHIELD, a miniature EW system for air platforms, which should give the drones their own protection from a wide range of threats.
The company showed STORM SHIELD at the AOC Electronic Warfare conference in Helsinki. Rafael calls the development of a light electronic warfare system for unmanned operations. The main task of the complex is to help the air platform independently detect threats, analyze the radio-electronic situation and respond without the constant participation of the operator.
STORM SHIELD continuously monitors the electromagnetic spectrum, detects and analyzes signals, and then independently generates and transmits retaliatory signals. Wide coverage in directions and frequencies helps to respond faster to different types of threats. The protection works 360 degrees, so the efficiency should not depend on the position of the drone in the air or maneuver.
Rafael connects the emergence of STORM SHIELD with an increase in demand for unmanned platforms that can perform tasks in a depressed or worsened radio-electronic environment. Ordinary self-defense products often require too much space, energy and mass, so defense companies are increasingly reducing the EB systems to sizes suitable for drones. SecurityLab wrote about the miniature system of TEEMS from Northrop Grumman, which can be installed on small platforms, including drones, unmanned boats and ground robots.
At the heart of the STORM SHIELD is a transmitter with an active phased array antenna AESA and solid-state forwarding modules. The complex also uses DRFM methods, that is, digital RFID memory, which helps create signals to defraud radar threats. According to Rafael, engineers have reduced the technology from a wider line of electronic warfare of the company under the restrictions of unmanned platforms by size, weight and cost.
The system is fully programmed, so operators can configure the software configuration for a specific mission. The modular architecture should simplify the integration of STORM SHIELD into different unmanned vehicles using standard components.
Among the key features, Rafael highlights a wide frequency range, search for a direction to the source of the signal, constant autonomous control of the electromagnetic situation and methods of deceiving threats associated with radar guidance. The military has already checked a similar logic of self-defense for drones on other platforms: earlier, the US Air Force tested the Angry Kitten system on the MQ-9 Reaper drone, and Anduril showed the Pulsar system, which should learn to respond to new threats right during operation.
Rafael positions STORM SHIELD not as an early experimental project, but as a solution based on the already used electronic warfare technologies. The company expects that the compact system is suitable not only for drones, but also for small tactical aircraft that are used for reconnaissance, strike tasks and border protection. A similar problem is solved by the BrightStorm from Leonardo: a compact device can be installed on aircraft, drones and rockets to suppress radars or create false targets.
Drones are increasingly having to fly where the enemy jams ties, looking for targets with radar and is trying to disrupt the flight of electronic warfare. The Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems introduced the STORM SHIELD, a miniature EW system for air platforms, which should give the drones their own protection from a wide range of threats.
The company showed STORM SHIELD at the AOC Electronic Warfare conference in Helsinki. Rafael calls the development of a light electronic warfare system for unmanned operations. The main task of the complex is to help the air platform independently detect threats, analyze the radio-electronic situation and respond without the constant participation of the operator.
STORM SHIELD continuously monitors the electromagnetic spectrum, detects and analyzes signals, and then independently generates and transmits retaliatory signals. Wide coverage in directions and frequencies helps to respond faster to different types of threats. The protection works 360 degrees, so the efficiency should not depend on the position of the drone in the air or maneuver.
Rafael connects the emergence of STORM SHIELD with an increase in demand for unmanned platforms that can perform tasks in a depressed or worsened radio-electronic environment. Ordinary self-defense products often require too much space, energy and mass, so defense companies are increasingly reducing the EB systems to sizes suitable for drones. SecurityLab wrote about the miniature system of TEEMS from Northrop Grumman, which can be installed on small platforms, including drones, unmanned boats and ground robots.
At the heart of the STORM SHIELD is a transmitter with an active phased array antenna AESA and solid-state forwarding modules. The complex also uses DRFM methods, that is, digital RFID memory, which helps create signals to defraud radar threats. According to Rafael, engineers have reduced the technology from a wider line of electronic warfare of the company under the restrictions of unmanned platforms by size, weight and cost.
The system is fully programmed, so operators can configure the software configuration for a specific mission. The modular architecture should simplify the integration of STORM SHIELD into different unmanned vehicles using standard components.
Among the key features, Rafael highlights a wide frequency range, search for a direction to the source of the signal, constant autonomous control of the electromagnetic situation and methods of deceiving threats associated with radar guidance. The military has already checked a similar logic of self-defense for drones on other platforms: earlier, the US Air Force tested the Angry Kitten system on the MQ-9 Reaper drone, and Anduril showed the Pulsar system, which should learn to respond to new threats right during operation.
Rafael positions STORM SHIELD not as an early experimental project, but as a solution based on the already used electronic warfare technologies. The company expects that the compact system is suitable not only for drones, but also for small tactical aircraft that are used for reconnaissance, strike tasks and border protection. A similar problem is solved by the BrightStorm from Leonardo: a compact device can be installed on aircraft, drones and rockets to suppress radars or create false targets.
