F126 german frigate

The F126 frigate design is currently in the works for Germany’s navy. (Damen Group)

EURONAVAL 2022 — As European armed forces lobby for budget increases to support warfare in the age of strategic competition, German company Rohde & Schwarz is hoping to cash in with a new electronic warfare (EW) solution it hopes will enhance the survivability of surface vessels.

Rohde & Schwarz, a Munich-based firm, has unveiled an integrated and top-deck maritime EW solution, which is under contract to be integrated on board the German Navy’s multi-purpose surface combatant vessel, the F126.

The “Naval Electronic Support (ES) Solution” — which has yet to be officially named by Rohde & Schwarz — features integrated radar and communications electronic support measures (RCESM) designed for the German Navy’s fleet of four to six F126 vessels, which are expected to enter service in 2028.

Speaking to Breaking Defense ahead of the official Oct. 18 launch of the Naval ES Solution at Euronaval, Rohde & Schwarz officials suggested variants of the new solution could also feature on board the German Navy’s F124 air defense and F125 frigates, which are already in service. Variants will also be made available for international export, it was added.

According to Michael Niewöhner, Vice President RESM/ELINT at Rohde & Schwarz, the Naval ES Solution has been designed to handle a variety of emerging threats, including the detection, tracking and identification of radar and communications signals.

This includes the detection of target acquisition radars, radar missile seekers and modern radar types applying Frequency Modulated Continuous Waves (FMCW), Niewöhner added.

“Modern threats are not easy to counter and vessels benefit from greater situation awareness if sensors are not just exclusively radar-based. The combination of RESM and CESM allows validation of targets with lower false alarm rates in target identification,” the executive suggested before describing how the most important aspects of the system include automation, rapid reaction, 360-degree coverage and high probability of intercept.

Traditionally, many RESM and CESM solutions have been standalone or separated onboard a surface vessel. The benefit of a combined solution, according to Rohde & Schwarz officials, is that both radar and communications intelligence can be fused into a single database.

Rohde and Schwartz antenna

A graphic portraying the new EW system aboard an F126 for the German navy. (Rohde & Schwartz)

The additional integration of machine learning algorithms can further reduce the workload of EW analysts, encouraging automation in situation awareness, decision-making and ultimately, survivability of a vessel.

The 0.5-40GHz system comprises a single, integrated mast featuring RCESM antennae, tactical data link, and V/UHF antennae. The solution includes a blanking unit to protect itself from the vessel’s own radar and communication transmitters.

The Naval ES Solution is capable of observing and identifying surface targets at ranges up to the radar horizon, and airborne targets at ranges of 250km and above, company officials claimed.

At Euronaval, Rohde & Schwarz will also be running a demonstration of its new system with simulated multiple adversarial airborne threats. In the simulation, “the Naval ES Solution detects and tracks the MPA and other airborne threats in the maritime environment, in addition to different types of vessels,” Niewöhner described.

The German Navy is also expected to procure some kind of new on-board or off-board electronic countermeasures (ECM) system. Rohde & Schwarz declined to comment on the direction of the navy in this regard, but did confirm the company’s management system could incorporate whichever ECM options the navy decided to feature.

The German Navy’s interest in maritime EW does not end with the F126, with the service also in the process of upgrading its underwater EW capabilities.

In June, Spanish defense technology giant Indra announced it had been contracted by Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace to equip future Type 212CD (Common Design) submarines in Germany and Norway with “intelligent electronic defence systems,” including low interception probability navigation radars.

As part of a €70 million contract, Indra will equip a total of four boats with an integrated EW solution which is capable of wideband interception and analysis of signals; use of interferometry to determine the position of potential threats; and digital reception technology for the generation of radar and communications intelligence.

According to Indra, the solution features a combined antenna integrated into the submarine’s mast, in addition to machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to future-roof the system against emerging threats.

“The X-band radar represents Indra’s investment to equip these submarines with dual continuous wave radars involving high-precision detection pulse and low probability of interception. It is a solid-state digitized system with a high-frequency agility and bandwidth, able to detect targets with low radar cross-section in the worst electromagnetic clutter conditions, resisting jamming attempts by adversaries,” a company statement described.

Indra’s solution will be integrated into Kongsberg’s ORCCA combat system.

On October 10, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) also contracted SEA to upgrade a variety of capabilities on board the Royal Navy’s Type 23 and 45 frigates including the Sea Gnat anti-ship missile system and ECM technologies. No further details were disclosed by the MoD.