Leonardo and UK Manufacturers Innovate Cutting-Edge Defense Solutions for Military Vehicles

Leonardo, spearheading a collaborative UK consortium of innovative science and technology specialists, has effectively trialled an advanced protection system strategy for military vehicles including tanks and armoured personnel carriers. Referred to as MIPS (Modular Integration Protection System), this novel framework amalgamates layers of electronic and physical defense technologies to provide vehicle crews with an exceptional protective barrier. The consortium comprised Abstract Solutions, CGI, Frazer-Nash, Lockheed Martin UK, RBSL, Roke, and Ultra Electronics.

The showcasing of the developmental MIPS architecture marked a significant achievement in project Icarus, a Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) technology demonstrator programme (TDP). DSTL initiated the programme in reaction to the growing prevalence and swiftly evolving challenges posed by battlefield weaponry such as contemporary Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and Anti-Tank Guided Weapons (ATGWs).

During the assessment, which occurred at the MOD Shoeburyness range in Essex in July, representative munitions were discharged from close range at MIPS. The developmental system integrated an array of commercial off-the-shelf and surrogate sensors and countermeasures, each tailored for seamless integration into MIPS. This trial delivered an extensive evaluation of MIPS’s capability to sense, control, and react promptly to imminent threats within critically brief timeframes.