SAAB Announces Successful Improvement For LEDS System

Saab has announced today that it has successfully tested a 3rd generation High Speed Directed Launcher (HSDL-306) in Centurion, South Africa. The tests included deployment of GALIX 13 multispectral smoke from Etienne Lacroix, France. The tests included a combination of coverage angles and different dispensing sequences. The directed launcher is an important sub-system of the Land Electronic Defence System (LEDS) that enables the system to guarantee hemispherical coverage and multiple shot capabilities to the installed platform. “The tests went very well and the evaluation showed good result. All our test objectives were met which verifies we are on the right track and that our efforts to remain the international benchmark active protection concept have been successful”, says Cobus van der Merwe, Executive Manager Business Development for LEDS at Saab. The HSDL was mounted on a Piranha protected vehicle variant to also test integration design and monitor aspects like recoil and power consumption reduction. The primary benefits offered by this next-generation launcher are the reduction in power consumption, size and weight. It also offers future design flexibility in terms of different payload options and operational mission applications. The HSDL-306 is a joint effort by Curtiss-Wright Antriebstechnik GrnbH of Switzerland and the Saab business area Electronic Defence Systems. The system has the ability to detect laser beam rider missile attack at a range in excess of 5 km and combines this with multispectral screening smoke to interfere with effective guidance of the missile. The hardkill capability is a stand-off solution that destroys the attacking warheads by using controlled demolition principles thereby resulting in minimal collateral damage and virtually no residual penetration. LEDS (Land Electronic Defence Systems) is Saab’s active protection system for ground vehicles. When installed in full-configuration, the LEDS system will neutralise all threats on the battlefield by means of combined active signature management, soft- and hard-kill capability. Full hemispherical coverage is provided to detect incoming threats and alert the crew. The flexibility of design makes it possible to protect vehicles across the entire scope of operations including Military Operation in Urban Terrain (MOUT) and high-intensity conventional warfare.