Royal Navy freshens up ships' electromagnetic warfare defenses

MEWSIC to Brit crews' ears will see off anti-ship missiles, among other things

Britain's Royal Navy is to get updated electromagnetic warfare (EW) capabilities including launchable decoys to help defend its vessels against threats such as modern anti-ship missiles.

The UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) says it has been part of a major Ministry of Defence (MoD) program to radically overhaul electromagnetic warfare surveillance and anti-ship missile defence features, known as the Maritime EW Programme (MEWP).

MEWP doesn't just replace existing equipment, according to Dstl, it reimagines how EW integrates into the command chain. It comprises two aspects: the Maritime EW System Integrated Capability (MEWSIC), which provides better sensing plus advanced command and control; and EW Counter Measures (EWCM).

Those EW Counter Measures (EWCM) will see Royal Navy ships fitted with decoy launchers (Ancilia) to provide rapid protection against hostile threats, including modern anti-ship missiles and directed energy weapons.

Decoys are designed to protect navy vessels by mimicking their radar or infrared signature in order to draw anti-ship missiles away from them.

MEWSIC will equip 21 of the RN's vessels, including the 2 Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, all 6 of the Type 45 air defence destroyers, plus the 8 Type 26 anti-submarine frigates and 5 Type 31 general-purpose frigates, when the latter two types enter service.

Apart from the carriers, all of the ships will also be fitted with two Ancilia launchers apiece. Not fitting them to the carriers seems like an oversight, especially as these ships have very little in the way of defense other than the Phalanx radar-guided anti-aircraft gatling gun.

The harbour tugs Bountiful and Indulgent manoeuver the Royal Navy warship HMS Diamond towards the harbour mouth as the destroyer leaves the Naval Base – Credit: Kevin Shipp/ Shutterstock

According to Dstl, a key enhancement here is the shift from fixed decoy launchers to trainable systems that can rotate and elevate to launch the projectile into the right place at the right time to deceive incoming anti-ship missiles. It says this approach is already generating international interest and is being proposed as a NATO standard.

But the MEWSIC Command and Control system is said to be an equally important piece of the puzzle, changing how EW information is collected and presented to Navy personnel in a ship's operations room. This provides commanders with enhanced situational awareness, allowing for faster and better-informed decision-making in complex environments, Dstl claims.

Future updates could address the need to deal with directed energy weapons, and also how technology could be applied to maximize the skills of the human operator.

Initial operational capability of MEWP is planned for 2027, which means it should be available for deployment by the time the first Type 26 and Type 31 frigates enter service. ®