StrikeShield is the third and latest generation of Rheinmetall's acclaimed Active Defence System (ADS) technology, a specific variant of hard-kill APS. It is a distributed system whose sensors and countermeasures are integrated into the contours of the entire vehicle. Among other benefits, StrikeShield has the lowest emissions in the electro¬magnetic spectrum on the market, as well as the fastest reaction time in ambush and multi-hit situations. It protects the vehicle from shaped charge warhead threats such as rockets or missiles by neutralizing incoming projectiles before they hit the platform itself.

The StrikeShield APS will be mechanically integrated into hybrid armor tiles on the Lynx. Instead of conventional passive add-on armor modules, the platform will feature spaced passive armor tiles that incorporate the components of the APS between an outer ply and inner tiles mounted on the vehicle’s hull.

Rheinmetall Protection Systems GmbH is Rheinmetall’s center of excellence in survivability technologies, formed in 2019. Core of the product strategy is the hybridization of armor solutions, which provide the outlook to lighter and sensor based survivability solutions for armored platforms.

Source:  Rheinmetall
Associated URL: rheinmetall.com

Cobham Mission Systems’ components, used in the ESM’s crew life support consumable gas and water delivery system, will provide water, oxygen, and nitrogen needed to create a life-sustaining environment for the crew onboard the vehicle. Components, including oxygen and nitrogen regulators, and water and gas on/off valves, will be delivered annually and designated for use on ESM 4 through 6, scheduled to launch in the 2026-2027 timeframe. Final Orion program approval by the European Union Ministerial Council for ESM 5 and 6 is expected to take place end of 2022.

Source:  www.cobhammissionsystems.com

a4ESSOR is a joint venture between Bittium (Finland), Indra (Spain), Leonardo (Italy), Radmor (Poland), Rohde & Schwarz (Germany) and Thales (France). The joint venture is responsible for managing industrial activities under the ESSOR program and coordinating the partners' work.

Formal acceptance of the ESSOR High Data Rate Base Waveform is in addition to successful acceptance tests at Leonardo's laboratories in Pisa last November and formal quality acceptance. It rewards two and a half years of development work, involving all ESSOR industry partners.

a4ESSOR's partners will be porting the ESSOR HDR Base Waveform to their respective software defined radios (SDR) as part of the next phase of the project. Final interoperability tests between the partners' radios will complete the ESSOR OC1 project, with the release of improved and up-to-date ESSOR Target Waveforms, ready to deploy in the operational field.

The achieved milestone not only confirms the maturity of the ESSOR technology, but it also demonstrates that cooperation, among different countries and among different companies, is a key element in the enhancement of European products and the competitiveness of European industries in the global communication market.

The ESSOR program was launched in 2009, under the umbrella of the European Defence Agency (EDA). The goal of the program is to develop software-defined radio architecture and the new coalition ESSOR HDR WF in order to facilitate interoperability between European armed forces.

Source:  Thales