Defensive aids system architecture tested

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LONDON, March 20 (UPI) -- Flight trials by Britain's Ministry of Defense and industry partners of an open-architecture defensive aids system have been concluded.

The testing, part of a three-year government-industry technology demonstrator program to enable rapid fitting of sensors and counter-measures onto aircraft.

"The aim is to establish how the different components can be better integrated, providing a coherent approach across different aircraft types," the Defense Ministry said.

"Historically, the sensors and effectors used different, proprietary interfaces to communicate. The TDP has developed a common interface through which they can all communicate, providing greater flexibility."

The industry participants are led by Selex ES and include British companies Thales and QinetiQ, and BAE Systems North America.

The flight trial involved testing the architecture, which integrated infra-red, laser, ultraviolet sensors and a compact directed infra-red countermeasure effector.

The ministry said its Defence Science and Technology Laboratory facilitated a series of tests using a ground-based advanced multi-axis motion platform and a Lynx helicopter.

Flight data is now being analyzed by the team.