New self-protection systems for Netherlands military helicopters

The Dutch Ministry of Defense announced plans to reinforce the self-protection systems of three types of helicopters: the NH90, the Apache and the Chinook. This was announced today by State Secretary Christophe van der Maat before the House of Representatives.

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The Netherlands Armed Forces took note of the effectiveness shown by the various low-level air defense systems deployed by Ukraine to counter Russian helicopters and decided to reinforce the survivability of its own fleet.

It has been confirmed that it was one of the Piorun missiles donated to Ukraine by Poland that shot down the Russian Mi-24 helicopter today.

Unlike Stingers, Piorun can down targets flying very low (10m altitude/400m distance).

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See also: Manpads in Ukraine: The return of Russian aircraft’s biggest fear

“Defense helicopters are essential to military operations. Armed forces deploy them all over the world. In doing so, they can get within range of enemy anti-aircraft systems. Think of infrared or radar-guided missile systems and guided anti-aircraft artillery. These weapon systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated and today’s helicopter self-protection systems cannot be left behind,” said Christophe van der Maat.

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NH90

The Netherlands uses the NH90 not only as an embarked maritime combat helicopter, but also as an amphibious transport helicopter, mainly performing operations over sea and land, in the so-called “wide coastal strip”. The threat in these areas comes mainly from radar-guided weapon systems. Therefore, the helicopter needs a modern radar warning receiver, but also an improved system with countermeasures against radar-guided missiles.

As there is currently no solution on the market that meets these needs, the MoD will seek to develop an autonomous modular self-protection system with open source software, capable of jamming enemy missile radars and guidance systems. These improvements could be incorporated within the mid-life modernization (MLU) plans planned for the NH90 fleet.

Chinook and Apache

The main threat to helicopters operating on the ground is represented by shoulder-launched missile systems (MANPADS), usually guided by infrared. That is why the Dutch Chinook and Apache will see their defense against this type of threat increased with the acquisition of equipment similar to that used by the helicopters of NATO partners and allies, to improve interoperability and facilitate logistics.

Although no specific details were provided, the Secretary of State said that, for the Apache attack helicopters, the possibility of acquiring a laser infrared jamming system from the U.S. government is being studied. This would be the Common Infrared Countermeasures self-protection system or CIRCM, produced by Northrop Grumman.

According to the manufacturer, CIRCM is a lightweight, highly reliable infrared countermeasures system compatible with rotary wing, tilt-rotor and small fixed-wing aircraft. This affordable solution integrates with existing aircraft survivability equipment and uses an open architecture that allows for future growth.

Two years after the start of full production, 500 CIRCM systems have already been delivered and have accumulated more than 25,000 operational flight hours on AH-64, CH-47 and UH-60 helicopters.