Leonardo, the European leader in Electronic Warfare (EW), is promoting its proven SAGE EW system at the ongoing ADEX, as an ideal candidate for the Republic of Korea’s (RoK) helicopter upgrade programmes.
SAGE is already installed in RoK’s Leonardo AW159 helicopters and will also provide a ‘future proof’ electronic warfare growth path for the country’s CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
Leonardo has already executed an EW knowledge transfer programme for members of the RoK Navy, Air Force and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), to train Korean forces to adapt the AW159’s EW systems in response to new threats as they emerge.
This included the creation and establishment of a Korean EW support facility on-site at RoK Navy 62 Squadron’s Gim Hae base. Leonardo is also interested in working with a Korean partner company in the manufacture of SAGE, to meet current and future operator needs.
SAGE forms part of a helicopter’s survivability suite and is a highly effective Radar Warning Receiver (RWR). The key difference with the SAGE EW system as compared to other, more basic RWR systems is that SAGE also provides an advanced Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability. This allows helicopters equipped with SAGE to identify the location of Radio Frequency (RF) emitters such as surface-to-air missile fire-control radars, allowing operators to build up an accurate picture of the battlespace. Such capability is a useful battlefield asset, as the valuable intelligence so generated, can be used to avoid or engage the threat, and passed on to other friendly assets.
Leonardo is also supplying SAGE EW systems for Brazilian Navy’s upgrade for its fleet of Lynx Mk21A helicopters. The Indonesian Air Force has selected SAGE for a fixed-wing application.
With more than 25 years of experience in defence publishing, Global Business Press and its industry leading titles Asian Defence Technology, Asian Airlines & Aerospace and Daily News are the leading defence publications in the region, present at more international shows and exhibitions than any other competing publication in the region.
Copyright 2023. GBP. All Rights Reserved.