Airbus D&S to provide IED jammers to Germany

Airbus Defence and Space (D&S) has been awarded a contract to provide an electronic system that protects against Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to the German armed forces, the company said on 9 March.

The German procurement authority awarded the multi-million euro contract to Airbus D&S for the provision of 36 Vehicle Protection Jammers (VPJs). These VPJs will be integrated into the German military's protected vehicles.

The VPJ uses the SMART responsive jamming technology developed by Airbus D&S. It detects and identifies radio signals used to detonate roadside IEDs. After detecting and identifying a threat, it sends real-time jamming signals that match the hostile frequency band to interrupt communications with the IED.

The system has a new digital receiver and signal processing technology, resulting in reaction times well below one millisecond. According to the company, in each second, the VPJ can detect and jam up to 750 billion threat signals in all common frequency bands.

The jamming power is focused on the specific frequency of the detonation signal instead of being distributed across the frequency range, which is the process in conventional systems. This requires less energy, increases the jamming effect, and reduces the impact on friendly forces’ radio communication.