EADS Systems and Defence Electronics (SDE) has teamed with MBDA to bid for the UK's $1.6 billion (£1 billion) Ground Based Air Defence System (GBADS) competition. A downselect from four to two teams for a demonstration phase is now expected to be made in April with entry into service targeted for 2007.
The pair have demonstrated the control of an MBDA Rapier surface-to-air missile using a prototype EADS Caracal command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) system. GBADS was launched last year to provide enhanced command and control for the UK's Rapier FSC and Thales Starstreak Hyper Velocity Missile (HVM). A planned second phase will update GBADS with new missiles, radars and other elements and is worth another $9.4 billion. Other contenders are AMS, Lockheed Martin and Thales UK.
Caracal is based on the EADS Surface to Air Operations Centre (SAMOC) in German service and will use UK- specific hardware with added software functionality, according to Thomas Hein, EADS SDE director marketing and sales. It will be integrated with the British Army's Bowman digital communications backbone and used by the missile launcher, as well as provide situational awareness at the battalion and brigade level. Each level will have common hardware and software.
SAMOC takes data from multiple sensors and fuses it into a single integrated air picture (SIAP). EADS is integrating the Link 16 tactical datalink with the system and is testing for interoperability with US systems. SIAP will allow threats to be targeted by a single system, rather than engaged by multiple weapons.
During tests in November and January, a simulated threat was passed from Caracal to Rapier, and the missile launcher and radar began to track the target. An aircraft was tracked by the Rapier and the data fed to Caracal, adds Hein.
Source: Flight International