Report: Singapore's Chinook, Apache Helicopters Upgraded with Elbit Defensive Suite
Singapore’s air force has installed Elbit Systems-made defense electronics suite on its fleet of AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook helicopters as part of an effort to boost aircraft survivability and mission capacity, Defense News reported
IsraelDefense
| 16/08/2017
By LH Wong from Singapore, Singapore (_MG_7418 Uploaded by tm) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Singapore’s fleet of Boeing AH-64 Apache attack and CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters are being fitted with defensive suites from Elbit Systems, Defense News reported Tuesday.
According to the report, images of upgraded Apaches and Chinooks of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) show that they have been fitted with missile approach and laser warning systems that look identical to that offered by Elbit as part of its All-in-Small integrated electronic warfare suite.
A spokesperson from Singapore’s Ministry of Defense had confirmed that the RSAF "is equipping the AH-64D with new mission systems to enhance the helicopter’s survivability and improve its mission capability," adding that the "upgrading program involves equipping the AH-64D with a Helicopter Integrated Electronic Warfare System (HIEWS) to enhance survivability and SATCOM for more robust communications."
The helicopters are also fitted with rectangular-shaped radar warning receivers, or RWR, similar to that carried on RSAF’s AS332M/M-1 Super Puma medium-lift helicopter fleet, which had its upgrades completed earlier this decade. Sources told Defense News that these RWRs are also an Elbit product, although the company declined to confirm that Singapore was a customer for its helicopter defensive suite.
Defense News reported that only one RSAF Apache and at least three of RSAF’s 10 CH-47SD Chinooks have undergone the upgrades so far.
According to Singapore's MoD, RSAF’s Apaches and Chinooks will be equipped with SATCOM "for more robust communications." A SATCOM dome has been fitted onto the outer leading edge of each of the upgraded Apache’s stub wings, similar to that on Israel’s AH-64D Sarafs, for full 360-degree coverage while the upgraded Chinooks have a SATCOM dome on the top of the fuselage in between the twin rotor booms, the report added.
[Source: Defense News]
Singapore’s air force has installed Elbit Systems-made defense electronics suite on its fleet of AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook helicopters as part of an effort to boost aircraft survivability and mission capacity, Defense News reported
By LH Wong from Singapore, Singapore (_MG_7418 Uploaded by tm) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Singapore’s fleet of Boeing AH-64 Apache attack and CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters are being fitted with defensive suites from Elbit Systems, Defense News reported Tuesday.
According to the report, images of upgraded Apaches and Chinooks of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) show that they have been fitted with missile approach and laser warning systems that look identical to that offered by Elbit as part of its All-in-Small integrated electronic warfare suite.
A spokesperson from Singapore’s Ministry of Defense had confirmed that the RSAF "is equipping the AH-64D with new mission systems to enhance the helicopter’s survivability and improve its mission capability," adding that the "upgrading program involves equipping the AH-64D with a Helicopter Integrated Electronic Warfare System (HIEWS) to enhance survivability and SATCOM for more robust communications."
The helicopters are also fitted with rectangular-shaped radar warning receivers, or RWR, similar to that carried on RSAF’s AS332M/M-1 Super Puma medium-lift helicopter fleet, which had its upgrades completed earlier this decade. Sources told Defense News that these RWRs are also an Elbit product, although the company declined to confirm that Singapore was a customer for its helicopter defensive suite.
Defense News reported that only one RSAF Apache and at least three of RSAF’s 10 CH-47SD Chinooks have undergone the upgrades so far.
According to Singapore's MoD, RSAF’s Apaches and Chinooks will be equipped with SATCOM "for more robust communications." A SATCOM dome has been fitted onto the outer leading edge of each of the upgraded Apache’s stub wings, similar to that on Israel’s AH-64D Sarafs, for full 360-degree coverage while the upgraded Chinooks have a SATCOM dome on the top of the fuselage in between the twin rotor booms, the report added.
[Source: Defense News]
