Three-dimensional threat detector protects aircrews from threats

The 3-Dimensional Advanced Warning System (3DAWS) is designed to detect a potential threat and select the best available countermeasure, depending on the nature of the danger.

Existing threat detection and missile warning systems typically use 2D information, azimuth and elevation, to assess a potential hazard. This makes identifying and confirming the threat much more difficult.

In contrast, 3DAWS incorporates a third dimension, range, allowing it to better analyse the threat, according to Cheryl Paradis, director of Threat Management Solutions at BAE Systems.

“The typical threat that they [aircraft] see in theatre are MANPADS, or man-portable surface-to-air missiles, which detect the IR signature of the aircraft,” Paradis said.

“Our customers want the ability to definitively say, there is a threat there, and that threat is coming at you, and it’s not a false alarm, its real,” she said.

The system is comprised of two components: a passive threat detection system, such as BAE Systems’ Common Missile Warning System (CMWS), which is designed to detect the ultraviolet signature of missiles; and a radio frequency-based, semi-active 3D tracker.