US DoD evaluates ESL MALLINA missile warner test equipment

The recently introduced MALLINA Missile Warner test equipment from British defence electronics company, Elettronica Systems (ESL), is undergoing detailed evaluation under the US Office of the Secretary of Defense sponsored Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) Programme announced by the DoD. Following completion of the trials the USAF will evaluate whether this commercially existing system could meet an immediate or future need to provide MANPADS simulation on combat training ranges.

The FCT Programme is aimed at testing foreign defence equipment with a view to meeting combat training range requirements and/or correct mission area shortcomings. This FCT is of particular interest to US SOCOM (Special Operational Command), the US Air National Guard and US Air Force Reserve, whose aircraft fly into threat areas, low and slow making them particularly vulnerable to MANPADS threats.

The ESL MALLINA IR/UV missile warner stimulator will need to meet the US Air Force training requirement to trigger IR/UV missile warning systems on combat aircraft.

The MALLINA will simulate IR/UV rocket motor signatures for IR MANPAD surface-to-air missile threats. Aircrews will be able to observe valid missile warning systems on combat training ranges before being subjected to actual threats in combat

The evaluation trials took place at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida during August 2001. A tripod mounted MALLINA system was deployed stimulating missile attacks on Air Force C-I 30 aircraft equipped with missile warning systems.

MALLINA has been developed in collaboration with TENIX Systems of Australia and consists of a suite of five modules. These can be custom configured to meet a large number of combined operational requirements including the full evaluation of directed infra red countermeasure systems (DIRCM).

ESL MALLINA is already deployed by the RAF at the Spadeadam Electronic Warfare Training Range, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the South African National Defence Force. MALLINA is also undergoing test and evaluation with DBA Systems in the USA.

MALLINA has been successfully integrated with the USA based Titan Systems Corporation MANPADS Integrated Threat Simulator/Stimulator (MITSS) System which was demonstrated in the UK in June 2001. In conjunction with the Titan Simulator MALLINA successfully triggered the on-board AAR-47 Missile Warners on four different aircraft flown in the trial. This confirmed the effectiveness of the MITSS system as a training and tactics development vehicle.

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