BAE Systems developing advanced electronic warfare countermeasures for Army combat vehicles

BAE Systems was awarded a follow-on contract from the U.S. Army to further develop its Multi-Class Soft Kill System (MCSKS) countermeasures to protect ground combat vehicles against guided missiles and adjacent threats, improving vehicle survivability and mission success.

Under the MCSKS contract, BAE Systems will further develop its laser-based Stormcrow and TERRA RAVEN countermeasure systems, advancing the Army's electronic warfare (EW)-based Active Protection System (APS) work. The advanced systems effectively counter threats and allow crews to conserve kinetic countermeasures.

"Today's combat vehicles need active protection systems that quickly and efficiently counter modern threats," says Jared Belinsky, director of Integrated Survivability Solutions at BAE Systems. "Missile countermeasures are part of our full-spectrum approach to electromagnetic warfare. We're creating an Intrepid Shield around our customers' platforms – improving their effectiveness on the battlefield."

BAE Systems' active protection systems provide next-generation layered defense capabilities for vehicles and maritime platforms, leveraging advanced electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) and radio-frequency (RF) spectrum technologies. The systems are small, modular, lightweight, rugged, and cost-efficient. They use multi-function sensors, intelligent processing, and electromagnetic emitters to provide enhanced situational awareness and threat response in all weather and lighting conditions and in challenging terrain and complex battlespaces.

BAE Systems has provided combat-proven aircraft survivability equipment to the U.S. Department of Defense and its allies for decades and is an innovator in full-spectrum electromagnetic warfare technology. The MCSKS contract builds on the company's successful execution of the Advanced Layered Soft Kill System (ALSKS) and the Layered Soft Kill System (LSKS) development programs, including several successful capability demonstrations.

The company's vehicle protection systems are developed and manufactured at its state-of-the-art facility in Austin, Texas with research and development support from the company's FAST Labs organization in Merrimack, New Hampshire.