New radar ESM for Type 45 destroyer

Thales Sensors has been awarded a contract by BAE SYSTEMS' Type 45 Prime Contract Office to supply RESM (Radar Electronic Support Measures) systems for the first three Type 45 destroyers.

The systems will incorporate a new signal processor, the Minerva GTPA (Graph Theoretic Processing Algorithms), which has been developed and trialled in conjunction with DERA and Thales Research, and a library matching system based on the DERA Palantir system. These two state of the art developments are set to give the system the world's most advanced processing capability, providing a significant reduction in false alarm rates. This will support improved cueing of off-board decoys, enhanced data fusion with the ship's combat management system and other sensors.

Thales believes its GTPA will offer the most cost-effective route for upgrading the capability of all other RN surface ships fitted with ESM systems. Thales was selected against both major US and UK based competition with the first RESM systems being fitted in 2004 for trials and commissioning in 2007.

David Sheppard, managing director of Thales Sensors, commented: "The Royal Navy is currently the world leader in EW, having standardised upon earlier generations of Thales' equipment and this latest contract consolidates our position as the premier supplier of naval EW equipment in the UK. Thales is playing an important role in Type 45, having previously been contracted for the Fully Integrated Communications System (FICS)."

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