Piranha V Armored Personnel Carrier. Image – Forsvaret DK
Leonardo’s recent announcement from DSEI that the company has been awarded a new contract for vehicle camera systems helps reinforce the company’s position as key provider of advanced, tactical vehicle electronics systems such as situational awareness and self-protection technology.
Leonardo announced a contract worth over GBP10 million with the Danish Defense Acquisition and Logistics Organization to equip more than 300 Royal Danish Army vehicles, including Piranha V 8×8 armored personnel carriers (APCs) and CAESAR 8×8 ART (Artillery) platforms, with integrated vehicle camera systems.
According to the company, its vehicle camera system utilizes a cross-platform modular design that comprises high-resolution infrared driver’s night vision (thermal/low light) cameras, daylight cameras, user displays, IR illuminators, and other platform video sources.
Leonardo is also a coproducer of the TROPHY active protection system which provides defenses against anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Widely distributed, notably in Israel and the U.K., the system will likely see steady production through the decade for the military vehicle inventories of multiple nations.
The demand for vehicle situational awareness and protection from missile attacks has expanded greatly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with an almost endless stream of reports and images of main battle tanks and other vehicles being obliterated by missile attack. This demand includes a need for existing, readily available systems as well as the development and procurement of enhanced capabilities to counter emerging threats.
TROPHY rapidly detects and tracks an anti-tank missile threat and neutralizes it away from the platform. The threat detection and warning subsystem consists of electro-optical sensors and search radar located around the protected vehicle to provide full hemispherical coverage. New variants under development may feature infrared jammers, laser spot imitators, and radar jammers.
Recent Contracts
In October 2012, Leonardo, along with prime contractor Rafael, began jointly developing and marketing advanced hostile fire detection and active protection capabilities for the U.S. ground systems market.
In June 2018, Leonardo DRS was awarded a contract worth $193 million to provide TROPHY systems, countermeasures, and maintenance kits for U.S. Army tanks. Over the past few years, the U.S. has ordered enough systems to equip four brigades of tanks.
Andrew Dardine is lead analyst for Forecast International's Defense Electronic Systems group. He is the primary author of Forecast International's Electronic Warfare Forecast and co-author of Electro-Optical Systems Forecast and C4I Forecast. Andrew is also a regular contributor to FI's Defense & Security Monitor blog, offering insights into developing technologies such as directed-energy and next-generation jamming systems. His analysis of such vital market areas as EO/IR systems and electronic countermeasures technology has been cited in Defense News, Aerospace Daily, and Bloomberg Businessweek, among other news media. He has also written about the electronic defense market for Aviation Week and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
