Nulka Programme nears major milestone
The award winning Nulka defence system will achieve another major milestone in 2010 with the delivery of the 1 000th production round.
Prime contractor BAE Systems today confirmed that the Nulka active missile decoy had now been fitted to more than 130 warships providing each vessel with a highly effective all-weather defence against anti-ship missiles.
The system is the result of more than three decades of collaborative development between Australia and the US, and brings together hovering rocket, autonomous system and electronic technologies to seduce enemy missiles away from their target.
Peter Osbourne, BAE Systems Export Manager, said today that although Nulka had been in service with the Royal Australian, US and Canadian Navies for more than a decade, it remained the most effective soft-kill system available.
“Nulka was a revolutionary concept when first conceived, and remains a unique technical approach to countering modern anti-ship missiles,” Mr Osbourne said.
“The design challenges involved in developing a rocket able to balance on its own thrust were considerable. The enduring effectiveness of Nulka against the new generation of faster, more agile anti-ship missiles however, amply demonstrates the value of this approach.
“In oceans around the globe, Australian, US and Canadian navies rely on BAE Systems Australia’s Nulka technology to protect their warships.”
Mr Osbourne said the system would also be fitted to Australia’s new Air Warfare Destroyers.
Designed to be used as part of a multi-layered defence system or for stand-alone ship protection Nulka is Australia’s largest regular defence export, with annual sales of more than AUD $40 million.
Source: BAE Systems
More from Digital Battlespace
-
Airbus launches final CSO observation satellite for French Armed Forces
Airbus was awarded the Composante Spatiale Optique (CSO) contract at the end of 2010. This included an option for a third satellite, which was activated after Germany joined the programme in 2015.
-
Intelligence advantage: How real-time GEOINT is reshaping military decision-making (Studio)
In today’s contested operational environment, adaptability is key. The new Geospatial-Intelligence as a Service (GEO IaaS) solution from Fujitsu and MAIAR empowers militaries by enabling intelligence advantage, combining advanced technology with human expertise to deliver actionable insights.
-
Israel sets up new department to boost development of AI and autonomy
Israel will continue to develop autonomy for its weapons and platforms as it brings together defence personnel, academia and industry.
-
Clavister contracted to supply cyber protection for CV90s
Clavister CyberArmour, an integrated defence cybersecurity system, will be used on BAE Systems Hägglunds’ CV90 platform in deployments with a Scandinavian country, as well as in an eastern European nation.
-
Lockheed Martin completes tactical satellite demonstration and prepares for launch
The tactical satellite (TacSat) is an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system and will participate in exercises in 2025.
-
AUSA 2024: General Micro Systems adds four new products to the X9 Spider family
The airborne three-domain, the two ground-based and the ¼ ATR OpenVPX-based cross-domain systems were engineered to provide real-time security across multi-domain operations.