Cassidian’s ‘Smart Jammer’ Equips Commercial Vehicles with IED Countermeasure

High power jamming systems have long been used to protect VIP convoys from remotely controlled explosive charges. While brute force does the job in most cases, broad spectrum coverage and high power used often limit the use communications, networking devices, and other electronic systems employing wireless communications. The high power and high radiation levels used often require jammers to operate on dedicated, highly modified vehicles.

Cassidian, the defense and security division of EADS recently unveiled a ‘new-generation’ Convoy Protection Jammer that uses ultra-fast ‘Smart Responsive Jamming’ technology’ to substantially enhance protection, while maintaining relatively low power consumption and uninterrupted communications. The system detects and classifies radio signals over a wide frequency range of 20 MHz to 6 GHz frequency range, looking for signals that could be used to trigger explosive charges and roadside bombs. After detection and classification, the system transmits jamming signals to block the signal in real-time, by precisely matching the hostile frequency band, thus interrupting the connection between remote controller and the explosive charge.

Relying on digital receiver and signal processing technologies to achieve reaction times below one millisecond; it can intercept 1.5 million threat signals per second across all common frequency bands. By concentrating the jamming energy on the frequency that is active in each case, the system requires considerably less energy while maintaining uninterrupted communication for all passengers, security escorts.