Airborne Systems awarded US Navy decoy contract
Above: The decoy launcher tubes as fitted to the UK Royal Navy Type 45 frigates.
The contract to supply the Mk59 naval floating corner reflector decoy system is valued at $41.7 million over the next five years and will see the decoy system fitted to US frigates/destroyers.
The Mk59 corner reflector decoy offers a unique countermeasure protection against the most advanced emerging RF seeking missiles.
“The award of this contract further confirms the position of Airborne Systems as the world leader in naval decoy technology.”
Chris Rowe, managing director, Airborne Systems Europe, said: “This is one of a number of electronic warfare decoy products being designed and manufactured by Airborne Systems’ European facility, and represents a growing market.
“In addition to providing protection for the forces of our allies, it also provides and sustains high quality jobs in the UK, and more particularly in South Wales.”
Peter Barrett the Airborne Systems Business Development Manager for naval decoys said: “As newer and more advanced threats emerge on the marketplace, navies will have to re-examine their strategies for defeating RF missiles, as the more traditional countermeasures that have been utilised for many years will be increasingly ineffective against these advanced missiles.”
The Mk59 decoy system being supplied to the US Navy represents several generations of advancements to the previously supplied ANSLQ49 decoy which went out of service with the US Navy in the early 2000s.
“The US Navy has recognised the capability that the Mk59 system offers, and to win this contract is a major achievement for Airborne Systems,” said Dr. Vicki Panhuise, president, Airborne Systems.
Airborne Systems corner reflector decoys have been fitted to the UK Royal Navy frigates since 1986, with the latest version for the UK Royal Navy entering service in 2006, including their latest Type 45 Destroyer. Other NATO nations have also fitted various versions of the decoy system onto their vessels.
The decoy system itself comprises of deck mounted launch tube, which is already preloaded with the Mk59 decoy, and upon pressing the fire button in the Ops room, the process then becomes fully automatic. The decoy is launched out of the tube and fully inflates alongside the ship’s hull on the sea surface, before automatically being released and free floating past the stern. This entire deployment and inflation process takes a very short period of time, making the Mk59 effective against even supersonic threats.
