Israeli Navy trials new EW countermeasures system

Deseaver MK-4, Elbit Systems' latest EW dispensing system, successfully conducted sea trials with the Israeli Navy. (Elbit Systems)

The Israeli Navy and Elbit Systems have successfully completed sea trials with the company's new maritime electronic warfare (EW) countermeasures system.

According to the company on 1 August, the Deseaver MK-4 Countermeasure Dispensing System (CMDS) was involved in a series of sea trials onboard Israeli Navy vessels that tested its capability to respond effectively to complex missile attack scenarios. This involved launching decoy rounds from several CMDSs to counter multiple concurrent threats.

Deseaver MK-4 is the fourth and latest generation decoy control and launching system in the Deseaver portfolio. The soft-kill protection system is intended for surface vessels, providing perimeter protection against concurrent missile threats from multiple directions. It comprises several trainable and stabilised launchers, which accurately launch a range of passive and active decoys, selected by anti-missile algorithms.

The system can evaluate and classify each threat and is able to respond accordingly. Countermeasure techniques include using radio frequency (RF) and infrared to “distract” missiles as well as using chaff to “confuse” and RF to “seduce” locked missiles, the company said.

In addition, the system can incorporate three different launcher variants – fixed, rotating, and stabilised.