FAVS 2023: Ukraine revealed as launch customer for SETAS

An RCH 155 displayed at Defence Vehicles Dynamics (DVD) in September 2022. This example is fitted with at least three SETAS modules, which can be seen next to the driver's hatch and on the sides of the drive module. (Janes/Christopher Petrov)

Ukraine was revealed as the launch customer for Hensoldt's See Through Armour System (SETAS) at SAE Media Group's Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability (FAVS) 2023 conference held in London from 13 to 15 November.

SETAS was selected as an option for the 18 Boxer-based Remote Controlled Howitzer (RCH) 155 self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) that Ukraine contracted from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann + Nexter Defense Systems (KNDS) in December 2022. Training on these vehicles is scheduled to begin in November 2024, followed by the delivery of the first serial production vehicles in the first quarter of 2025.

Each SETAS module consists of a 12 megapixel (MP) daylight camera and an uncooled thermal imager with a resolution of 640×480. Although the latter has a lower resolution than the daylight camera, the contrast it provides makes it easier to detect objects and people in a cluttered environment or in adverse weather conditions. These sensors have a hemispherical field-of-view of 78˚ and allow the vehicle's occupants to recognise a person at a distance of 50 m.

The feed from the cameras can be conveyed to the crew via whichever human-machine interface (HMI) the customer selects, such as through a display screen or goggles.

Hensoldt has carried out several demonstrations to show how SETAS can be integrated into other systems, in addition to functioning as a standalone local situational awareness system (LSAS).