HENSOLDT MILDS – Missile Launch Detection Sensors

The armed forces have recognised the increasing threat to their tactical aircraft from anti-aircraft infrared guided missiles.

A high percentage of the aircraft losses in current and recent conflicts were from ground based defensive systems using IR SAMS. The threat of passive anti-aircraft missiles is evident. They are an undeniable danger to the aircrew and the aircraft.

To cope with this threat, HENSOLDT developed the Missile Launch Detection System AN/AAR-60, known as MILDS. With thousands of sensors sold so far, MILDS has earned a worldwide reputation for reliability and effectiveness.

[javieralvarez]

How do you perform the tracking? The Uv peak detection is during the ignition, thats posible to do a tracking of the MANPAD?

[xaina]

So basically this is an IR camera that can detect hot object approaching the aircraft ?

[princesofthepower]

How much more effective is a UV MAWS compared to a IR MAWS.

[eanerickson]

How do you see that back end of missile flying at you?

[kahlzun]

Why does a missile emit UV radiation? Isn't that a design flaw?

[eanerickson]

Can the machine say: "You are going to die"

[emrekoseoglu]

The problem with warning systems is not inability of detecting UV radiation, but the opposite. They are detecting too many irrelevant UV radiation sources like any small/large explosion which is almost always present in battlefield. Such sensitivity ends up with tons of false alarms. The algorithm should be able to tell the true danger from false alert, but it requires time to process the data. In many cases, the ground based infrared headed missle is fired in close proximity and will arrive the aircraft in 3-4 seconds, which makes it almost useless to receive the alert comes after huge data processing and it is too late. In ideal case you should scan all sources, and filter real threat by sophisticated algorithm but there is still a bottleneck of processing speed, which then will require bigger units, invading limited space/weight an aircraft body can provide, or becomes too complicated to operate in war conditions.

This is still an unsoved issue, and therefore the most casualities of fighter planes occure due to heat seeking ground based missles, launched by mobile vehicles or individual soldiers in very close proximity. It is easy to detect a long range air to air radar guided missle due to its radar vawes, even if its complicated strike path remains difficult to avoid, the pilots still have time for evasive maneuvers, or flying to friendly air zone and pressing eject button, even if all else fails.