Italy's Elettronica is looking to secure its solid position in the electronic warfare market by expanding into new international markets, enlarging its product portfolio and mastering new technologies - including cyber warfare.

Despite the economic downturn, Elettronica's revenues totalled €193 million ($250 million) in 2009, a rise of 10% on the 2008 total, and its new chief operating officer Domitilla Benigni expects further improvement in line with the forecast global financial recovery.

Elettronica has an order backlog valued at around €1 billion - mostly coming from domestic and European programmes - and its projections foresee strengthening in existing markets and success in new ones.

To meet intensifying demands for technology transfer and offset packages, the Rome-based company has expanded beyond its subsidiary in Germany and its participation in LNX - a USA-based high-tech component manufacturer - to pursue joint ventures in the United Arab Emirates, where it has partnered with Baynuna Aviation Technology to form ELTBAT, and India, where its holds a minority share of AEDS, which is based in Bangalore and controlled by Alpha Design Technologies.

Benigni says the joint ventures are achieving "interesting results", citing contracts won in the UAE to provide electronic support measures, electronic intelligence and a self-protection suite for maritime patrol aircraft and equip new corvette and stealth platforms provided to the navy by Fincantieri, as well as retrofitting in-service vessels.

Following a bilateral agreement reached by Brazil and Italy, Benigni believes Elettronica can "catch new contracts in the naval vessel domain" in that country. "We are also looking to new prospects on the local market, establishing a representative office and joint activities with the South American country companies," she says. "We are also looking to the Saudi Arabian market, where we are already supporting the Eurofighter Typhoon programme."

Having established a leading market position with its radio frequency electronic warfare products, Elettronica has added to its range infrared countermeasures and communications intelligence capabilities. It has also sought to position itself on the frontier of cyber warfare technology.

Working in collaboration with Israel's Elbit Systems, Elettronica has co-developed and is now testing a fibre laser technology-based direct infrared countermeasures systems family that will be ready for delivery in 2012, says Benigni. "We expect to sign the first national and international contracts within the end of this year," she adds.

The Italian ministry of defence has meanwhile appointed Elettronica as design authority for the electronic warfare component within its Forza NEC digitalisation programme. Company funds have been deployed toward the development of a net-centric command-and-control electronic warfare capability.

To Benigni, the "present and future net-centric capable forces, with all the different combat, intelligence and command and control communication layers being interconnected under IP protocol" represent a "sophisticated network that can be disrupted by cyber warfare attack". This, she says, creates a need for "a capability to protect our deployed forces in a wide range of international operations, where the physical attack cannot be carried on although we need to neutralise the threats". It is this that has guided the company-funded effort to "provide a cyber warfare monitoring and mutual protection capability within the Italian MoD Forza NEC programme by 2012".

With its cyber warfare efforts and its "new family of communication intelligence and jamming products for ground and naval applications" - partly intended for use in countering improvised explosive device warfare possibilities" - Elettronica is plainly equipped to battle for new business.

Source: Flight Daily News

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