Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) has contracted Thales for the delivery of 14 continuous wave illumination (CWI) transmitters for the Danish Navy’s Absalon and Iver Huitfeldt-class vessels.
The transmitters are to be integrated in the current ESSM fire control systems on-board the vessels.
The CWI transmitter is one of the components in the fire control chain and provides the x-band signal to illuminate the threat and allow the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM), a medium-range, surface-to-air US missile, to “home in” on the reflected signal.
Thales’s CWI transmitter utilizes Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology and incorporates a missile waveform generator (MWFG) building block. According to the company, the design is scalable to support emerging missile modes and threats.
“The CWI transmitter is an important product in our strategy as it strengthens our ability to provide complete ESSM fire control solutions in the market,” said Geert van der Molen, surface radars and above water systems VP at Thales in the Netherlands said.
The first delivery will be made mid-2019 and the last system will be delivered in 2021. The two sides have also signed a contract for the sustainment support of the CWI systems that will run until 2049.