Following several previous successful installations of BIRD’s solutions on UN Air Operations aircraft, the company has completed another installation of its AMPS-MV Airborne Missile Protection System, which includes the MACS sensor, on UN Air Operations Mi-17 helicopters.
Ready for immediate operational use, The AMPS-MV systems will protect the UN Air Operations VIPs when flying in Africa. As a qualified supplier of Airborne Missile Protection System for the UN as well as for other leading organizations such as the US government and various NATO forces, this follow-on order comes after several previous successful installations of BIRD’s solutions on UN Air Operations aircraft in recent years.
Operationally deployed in dangerous conflict areas worldwide, BIRD’s AMPS missile protection system provides the most enhanced protection for military and civilian aircraft against the growing threat of ground-to-air missiles (MANPADS).
In August 2019, Israeli-based Bird Aerosystems received a contract from the United Nations to provide its airborne missile protection system (AMPS) to the Mi-17 helicopters operating in Africa.
Likewise, in November 2021, Bird delivered its AMPS-MD with the SPREOS DIRCM to another customer, and successfully installed it on his Mi-17 helicopters.
BIRD’s SPREOS (Self Protection Radar Electro-Optic System), an integral part of the AMPS MD system, combines a Semi-Active Dual Band Radar and Directional IR Countermeasure. Queued by the Missile Warning Sensors, SPREOS points towards the suspected threat, performs a Doppler-based interrogation to confirm the existence of a valid threat, and extracts its key parameters.
In addition, SPREOS precisely tracks and points an advanced 5ht generation solid-state Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) towards the threat for the most effective jamming of the missile while continually assessing the jamming effectiveness.
AMPS automatically detects, verifies, and foils SAM attacks through the effective use of countermeasure decoys (Flares and Chaff) and by Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) that jam the missile’s IR seeker and protect the aircraft. The AMPS-MV includes BIRD Aerosystems’ patented Missile Approach Confirmation Sensor (MACS) sensor, which performs unique confirmation of suspected incoming missile threats detected by the main electro-optical passive sensors, practically eliminating any False Alarms. MACS ensures that only actual missiles will be declared by the system and reacted upon.
Ronen Factor, Co-CEO and Founder at BIRD Aerosystems: “Providing the highest level of protection for its personnel, the UN Air Operations again chooses to equip its aircraft with BIRD’s AMPS Airborne Missile Protection System. As the recent conflict in Ukraine showed us, the importance of these systems for the protection of soldiers’ lives is undoubted.”