Leonardo to deliver electronic warfare training technology to NATO

NATO’s Joint Electronic Warfare Core Staff (JEWCS) agency has awarded Leonardo a contract worth approximately €180 million to provide new electronic warfare training equipment.

According to an announcement from Leonardo, equipment will cover air, land and maritime domains and also includes a capability for training crews to defend against anti-ship missiles.

Leonardo will deliver a range of new equipment to NATO JEWCS, the Alliance agency which supports armed forces training to face hostile electro-magnetic conditions

The company says it was selected in an international competition and will incorporate technology from partners Cobham and Elettronica.

The contract was placed by the UK defense ministry as the host nation for NATO JEWCS, which is based at the Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) in Yeovilton. Equipment will be delivered in tranches over the next 4 years from Leonardo’s Electronic Warfare (EW) centre of excellence in Luton, UK.

The equipment to be delivered includes podbased EW systems which will be supplied for deployment on aircraft, alongside a NATO Anti-Ship Missile Defence Evaluation Facility (NASMDEF).

NASMDEF comprises a set of pods that can be installed on aircraft to simulate anti-ship missiles. They allow forces to train in the use of ‘soft-kill countermeasures’ which are used to protect ships from incoming threats. Cobham will be Leonardo’s principle sub-contractor for these elements.

For land and maritime applications, fully ruggedized shelters and vehicles will be provided, equipped with modular EW simulators, stimulators and jamming equipment. Elettronica will act as Leonardo’s principal subcontractor for these elements.

NATO JEWCS

NATO JEWCS is the Alliance agency responsible for the high-tech world of electronic warfare. It supports all NATO headquarters and commands in the development of NATO EW Policy, doctrine, concepts and experimentations. This unit advises also on contingency planning, force integration and offers specialized expertise on how to react to a hostile electromagnetic environment.

Part of NATO JEWCS’s remit is to improve armed forces training by simulating the effects of an enemy’s latest electronic warfare equipment during exercises, creating a ‘hostile environment’ in which to train.

To deliver the service, NATO JEWCS deploys high-tech EW equipment at training sites around Europe, allowing armed forces to practice their skills in areas such as electronic surveillance and electronic countermeasures while facing true-to-life attempts to disrupt their activity.