What Makes LEDS a Futuristic Self-protection System?
The age-old battle between anti-tank weapons and armour has reached a tipping point in favour of anti-tank weapons. Today we are talking about penetration in excess of 1200 mm RHA (Rolled Homogeneous Armour) and constantly increasing. There is a limit to the amount of armour that can be mounted on a tank due to weight and consequently mobility considerations. Solutions like Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) and Spaced Armour mitigate the growing insufficiency of armour to some extent, however, due to the ever increasing lethality of anti-armour munitions, these are not lasting solutions. A Laser Warning System (LWS) combined with an Active Protection System (APS) meet existing and future force-protection challenges and can significantly enhance the survivability of armoured fighting vehicles in intense battlefields.
Early warning of being lased by the enemy prior to engagement by aerial or missile attacks is the first step towards casualty avoidance and automated response is the key to remain alive. Saab’s LEDS-50 intelligent soft kill solutions provides combat personnel with vital situational awareness through detection on being lased by Laser Range Finders, Laser Beam Riding Missiles and Laser Target Designators. In addition to or in combination with physical movement, response options range from multispectral obscuration and the cueing or integration of third party effectors, such as remote weapon stations or infrared jammers. The solutions provide manual or fully automated responses to configurable areas of responsibility under dynamic conditions. For instance, Saab’s LEDS-50 MK2 automated soft kill can deploy an array of effectors in less than 1.2 seconds after it has detected a laser threat. All these features make it a truly futuristic self-protection system.
Active protection systems counter aerial threats in flight. Radars fitted on tanks detect the launch of hostile missiles and tank rounds, predict their incoming trajectory and automatically launch guided ammunition that can destroy or deflect hostile projectiles away from the tank.
Saab India Chairman & Managing Director Ola Rignell says, "for countries like India, integration with existing systems is important and the LEDS promises easy integration with battlefield management systems, sensor suites and cueing effectors. It is modular and scalable, mission configurable and provides enhanced survivability at low cost."
The LEDS system, when installed in full-configuration, in conjunction with the Mobile Camouflage System (MCS) will neutralize all threats on the battlefield by means of combined active signature management, soft- and hard-kill capability. Full hemispherical or 360-degree coverage is provided to detect incoming aerial threats and alert the crew. The flexibility of design makes it possible to protect vehicles across the entire scope of operations, including Military Operation in Urban Terrain (MOUT) and high-intensity conventional warfare.