Indra leads the development of an electronic protection system key for European air superiority

Under the direction of the Spanish Ministry of Defense, Indra is leading the development of what will be the most advanced electronic protection system in the world. European manned and unmanned combat air units will depend on this capacity to carry out their missions safely in hostile territory and will achieve superiority in the electromagnetic spectrum.

The project is led by Spain with the participation of France, Italy, Germany and Sweden. These five countries collaborate within the EU Permanent Cooperation Structure (PESCO), a formula that allows partner countries to sign agreements to move forward quickly in their defense integration.

The latest generation of air defense systems will make it impossible for a combat aircraft to fly in their protected area without an electronic protection system such as this one.

The technology that will be developed by Indra within the consortium formed by top European defense companies will strengthen the safety of aircraft involved in international, surveillance on EU territory or cross-border cooperation missions.

The new system will be inter-operable with the military assets available in NATO countries for operations taking place simultaneously in multiple theaters: land, sea, air, space and cyberspace.

The project will cover the design, development and proof-of-concept of the capability to interfere in multiple ways with enemy electromagnetic systems, thus covering a wide frequency spectrum. This includes individual jamming capability, joined jamming capability with other platforms and jamming in escort mode.

It will be based on existing state-of-the-art technologies currently available within the European industry, including cyberelectro-magnetic capabilities.

The system will follow a modular, scalable and flexible development to facilitate its integration, both integrated into the avionics of the platform and carried in external pods. This will guarantee compatibility with the different manned and unmanned aircraft used by allied countries.

The purpose of this system is to prepare an aerial platform to carry out missions such as suppressing enemy air defenses (SEAD), escorting other platforms, carrying out unconventional attacks and providing attack support.

Indra, global leader in the Defense industry

Indra is the national industrial coordinator of the European FCAS (Future Combat Air System) defense program, the largest joint European defense program to date and the most ambitious in terms of technological development.

It is the only Spanish company among the top one hundred defense companies in the world. Indra has developed critical projects for the national defense of countries all over the world, participated in major European and NATO programs and has a team with high added value.

Indra currently forms part of nine consortia of the EDIDP (European Defense Industrial Development Program) and acts as the coordinator of three of the five led by Spain. These include the PESCO program for strategic command and control, probably the most important of them, involving Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Luxembourg and Portugal.

Its technological products (radars, electronic defense, command and control, mission systems, etc.) have been widely acknowledged in the defense industry, as well as its ability to handle complex projects throughout the world. In addition, it participates in international programs, including European ones, such as Eurofighter, A400M, NH90, Meteor and ESSOR, and non-European and NATO-related ones like the ESSM, FLEPS, ACCS, and many others.

With more than 30 years’ experience in the defense sector, Indra has around 28,000 employees (out of a total of 49,000) in Spain. It operates in more than 140 countries and 30 provinces, with offices distributed throughout all the Autonomous Communities; specifically, within the defense industry, it has a workforce with more than 6,000 professionals and stable and recurring R&D investment (over 1,000 million euros over the last six years).

About Indra
Indra (www.indracompany.com) is one of the main global technology and consultancy companies and the technological partner for its customers’ key business operations around the world. It’s a major global supplier of proprietary solutions in specific segments of the Transportation and Defense markets and a leading company in digital transformation and information technology consultancy in Spain and Latin America by means of its Minsait subsidiary. Its business model is based on a comprehensive range of proprietary products, with an end-to-end approach that has high value and a significant innovative component. In 2018 Indra received income totaling 3.104 billion euros and had 43,000 employees, a local presence in 46 countries and business operations in more than 140 countries.