German premiere: Industry consortium demonstrates airborne electromagnetic combat in realistic live flight demo
Press release of the industry consortium to which PLATH also belongs
Manching, June 30, 2025 - Airbus, bKEC, HENSOLDT, IBM, MBDA, PLATH, Rohde & Schwarz and Schönhofer have demonstrated for the first time live in Germany how military aircraft can fly unhindered missions in a crisis area with active air defense systems using electromagnetic jamming measures.
An important milestone has been reached in the German defense project “Airborne Effects in the Electromagnetic Spectrum” (LuWES)
In the live flight demonstration in Manching, the team from German defence companies simulated an operational scenario in front of numerous representatives of the German Armed Forces: the evacuation of German citizens from a crisis area equipped with an area-wide air defence system. A Pilatus PC-12 turboprop aircraft, a simulated Airbus A400M military transporter, a SHARCS technology carrier, which served as an unmanned remote carrier, and an SA-8 anti-aircraft missile system, which represented the enemy's air defence, were used.
The PC-12 was equipped with an electromagnetic surveillance and jamming system. It acted as a so-called stand-off jammer, or jamming aircraft, which reconnoitred the SA-8 system from a safe distance, classified it, disrupted it with electromagnetic countermeasures and rendered it incapable of fighting. Without a functioning enemy air defence system, the simulated A400M was able to fly into the crisis area undetected, land and evacuate the citizens.
The SHARCS remote carrier, equipped with a stand-in jammer, provided support by simultaneously suppressing communications and thus delaying a response from the enemy forces. The delay-free communication of own forces, the exchange of reconnaissance and impact data as well as the processing and AI-supported analysis of the data took place in a secure cloud.
The demonstration showed how effectively electromagnetic combat (EC) forces can act and protect their own and friendly forces during missions. As EK works without ammunition and is non-kinetic, there is also no damage.
The capability shown in the demonstration is a key component of the German defence project ‘airborne effects in the electromagnetic spectrum’, or luWES for short, in which the Bundeswehr is developing EK capabilities. Developing the technologies for this is the declared aim of the participating companies Airbus, bKEC, HENSOLDT, IBM, MBDA, PLATH, Rohde & Schwarz and Schönhofer. Under the motto ‘EK made in Germany for Germany’, they want to enable the German air force to deploy the corresponding capabilities with confidence. Following the flight demo, the next step will be to further develop the individual luWES components.
luWES will form a ‘system of systems’ consisting of complementary and modular subsystems that will provide armed forces with electromagnetic protection from the air. The stand-off jammer operates from a great distance and makes it possible to disrupt enemy radar and communication systems beyond their direct range. This not only protects its own forces, but also increases their effectiveness, as enemy sensors are suppressed before they even enter their effective range.
This demonstration represents an important step towards operational usability. The individual system components will now be further refined in the next stage of development.
The Escort Jammer operates alongside manned operational platforms. It actively protects them in enemy territory by continuously jamming enemy radar and missile systems. The Stand-in Jammer penetrates directly into the enemy's effective area. It suppresses enemy air defence systems at close range, protects friendly weapons and thus increases their effectiveness and assertiveness.