MAPS-Enabled Countermeasures Defeat Threats in U.S. Army Field Tests

April 11, 2019

Lockheed Martin and industry partners supported U.S. Army integration of three countermeasures and a cueing sensor into the Modular Active Protection Systems (MAPS) framework for a six-week “rodeo” conducted at Redstone Arsenal, Ala.

In a series of live-fire tests, systems equipped with MAPS-enabled countermeasures defeated 15 out of 15 anti-tank guided missiles by jamming their signals, causing them to fly off-target.

“The success of the Army’s testing shows the effectiveness of an active protection system that can rapidly refresh with new components to meet specific mission and platform requirements,” said Michael Williamson, vice president of Sensors & Global Sustainment at Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed Martin engineers led hardware and software integration of an Ariel Photonics countermeasure into the MAPS framework ahead of the tests. They also supported U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center efforts with BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman in integrating two other countermeasures and a cueing sensor. Lockheed Martin was awarded the initial MAPS prototype controller contract in 2014 and continues to manufacture and deliver base kits to MAPS stakeholders.

The Modular Active Protection System (MAPS) base kit is the backbone of the U.S. Army’s MAPS framework that offers automatic, next-generation survivability for combat vehicles and crews. The base kit integrates sensors and countermeasures in an open, common framework to detect, track, classify and defeat existing and emerging threats like rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank guided missiles. It is designed to protect current combat vehicles, as well as support future vehicle protection system capabilities.

The open-architecture controller at the core of the base kit offers modularity and scalability to support upgrades and future vehicle protection system capabilities. Other components include a user interface, power management distribution system, network switch and application software.

The MAPS base kit is reusable and refreshable. Its open-architecture design enables users to selectively upgrade sensor and countermeasure components across all MAPS-enabled platforms. Upgrading at the component level reduces life cycle costs and promotes best-of-breed solutions. Most importantly, it reduces the time required to respond to emerging threats.

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